


Spellbound

by 127ghouls



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Blood, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Rated E for some explicit sexual content, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Witch Hunters, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:54:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 43,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26558491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/127ghouls/pseuds/127ghouls
Summary: Wanting to escape the horrors of the poor rural village, Taeyong, a farmer, travels to metropolitan Daegu to start anew.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 11
Kudos: 157
Collections: WorthAKingsRansom





	Spellbound

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Valentine_watashi_no_namae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valentine_watashi_no_namae/gifts).



> Please ignore any typographical or grammatical error, haha.

Beads of sweat trickle down Taeyong’s face as he hauls bags after bags of newly harvested corn from the field to the little hut where some of the farm goods are stored before they are either delivered to the market or distributed to the neighboring village. He’s been up and working with other farmers even before the roosters crowed, fueled by a humble breakfast of porridge. This is his lifestyle throughout the year and it doesn’t change. Profoundly difficult, but the routine is a comfort. Rest is a luxury the poor. At the very least, most of his neighbors are kind.

Farming constitutes a great portion of life in the rural area. Everywhere you look is a field of green, depends on what crop is planted, and small villages with a household count of not more than 50 are situated near the mountains. Logging can be a business especially when winter comes as wood is essential to making fire to warm families. But aside from it being dangerous as it is prohibited to cut trees (chopping them during winter is done stealthily), there are only a few they can use so as not to leave an obvious gap in the base of the forest. Nobody dares to go deep in there for plenty reasons better left unsaid.

All 25 years of Taeyong’s life were spent in this village. He’d seen people come and go; he’d braved storms under the fragile roof of his hut that requires frequent repair during rainy season. The village is a far distance away from the developed city. Fancy restaurants, hospitals, attractions are accessible if there is money. As they don’t have much, they rely heavily on crops for their meals. Amusement for children is a single swing hanging by a sturdy tree branch. And if one needs medical attention, there is an old, quack doctor residing in the neighboring village. Unless it is more than just a scrape on the knee or a sore back, they travel hours by foot or cart, then a cab or bus when they reach the mouth leading towards the city.

Taeyong wishes that medical practitioners who are still garnering enough experience can reside in their village one day. The lack of accessible health care is one cause why his father passed quickly. Well, the man was already old and weak anyway, but maybe he could’ve lived another year or two longer if there were proper medicines within reach.

It is a thing of the past and only one of the many wishful thinking that Taeyong does. He’s glad that his father is no longer in pain and must be having the time of his second life up above. When he wakes in the morning and moves through the day, he glances up the clouds from time to time and imagines his father watching over him. Given that Taeyong is still strong and healthy, it seems like the guidance of his father extends to him perfectly fine.

However, as much as they are far from the clamor of the city, the village isn’t exactly peaceful. Its stories of terror are rarely covered by media but something unnerving has been cloaking them for the past year. They call it a living nightmare for many times they rose to news of a child’s lifeless body found in the streambank leading to the forest. Some say it’s merely a parent’s negligence that caused their child to scamper to the waters and drown, but those that think beyond have a different perspective, but nevertheless perturbing.

The bodies should be bloated if they drowned. But they were always dry as though the bodily fluids were sucked out and the insides were shriveled. The corpses’ skins were wrinkly and pallid if found earlier, festering if found later. Taeyong always wonders if the parents never learn or some concealed entity could be behind it, just like what they say.

There are many possible answers that they might not confirm but one thing is for sure: Taeyong is among those that are racked with horror each time an inexplicable death occurs and hopes this comes to an end as soon as possible. These innocent children’s dreams did not have to be stolen so mercilessly. And there is no guarantee that the attacker only wants the younglings. They cannot see their enemy, so they will never know its intentions. The thought of being found lifeless in the stream lingers in their minds everyday, yet they have to face each morning bravely because they have to live. Prayers are their only weapon to fight whatever is causing tragedy in their village.

Taeyong hikes the sack of corn higher on his shoulder. His muscles scream for break but he can only pause at noon. These few bags of corns he is transferring to the hut will be sent to the neighboring village later. Food tastes more delicious when it is shared, and they will be blessed with an abundant harvest in return.

He’s about to reach the hut when a sobbing woman rushes past him, followed by two kids. Taeyong recognizes them – they’re that little family that lives in a hut behind rows and rows of houses. Even though he goes out everyday either to plant, harvest, rake the field or perform whatever work is available, he doesn’t see them frequently. That family is quiet and reserved, and only the father is out oftentimes to work alongside other farmers.

What happened? Why do they look distressed?

Realization dawns on him when he remembers that the couple has three kids. Three.

And there are only two that tailed their mother.

Taeyong rushes to the hut and puts down the bag of corn before following the flow of people towards the place that scares him the most – the streambank. By the time he squeezes himself through throngs of equally horrified villagers, the mother already collapsed from severe heartache as she hugs the body of her daughter. Her husband’s agonizing cries resonate in the atmosphere, together with the pitiful calls of the remaining children to their deceased sibling.

Shaky, frantic eyes scan the waters. It is clear, no traces of blood despite the state of the corpse telling it was disposed not too long ago. This is one of the reasons why the urge to flee burgeons within Taeyong each day. None of the bodies found had fatal injuries that would confirm the cause of death. It is so bizarre that he begins to think that the children must’ve vomited out their blood. But how?

“This is a curse,”

Taeyong’s attention snaps towards the elderly woman on his left. She senses his gaze and meets his eyes with her own terror-stricken pair.

“Even if we call for a doctor or the police, they will never be able to explain the strange occurrence in this village. It is black magic. Our children are dying to satisfy one’s selfish purposes.” Her wrinkled hands tremble as they clutch the ends of the cloth protecting her balding head. Taeyong watches as she shoves her way through the mourning family before crying out her suspicions.

“A witch! Someone is casting spells over our children, taking away their youth to prolong their own existence!” The woman’s harrowing voice roars throughout the place and causes panic. She pulls the grieving father into a hug before beckoning the children to join the embrace. “This cannot go on anymore! We need to find the culprit! They are the devil’s sycophant! Behead them!”

Cries, murmurs of confusion and murderous intent all mix in a plan to find the suspect. How sure are they that this is indeed the product of witchcraft? They have no evidence, but it _is_ the lack of evidence that spurs such conclusion. If there is no radical explanation, then the cause is likely to be resorting to sinister incantations.

Fear envelopes Taeyong in the midst of cacophony. He continues to listen to the elderly woman’s call to hunt the murderer, to scour the mountains and set the murderer ablaze. This is among the reasons why nobody dares to go past the streambank. Everyone believes that hiding among the giant trees, tall grasses and huge rocks is a silent killer.

It is only just that they have to stop being cowards now. Find the murderer or join the growing count of unjustified deaths.

With one last look at the unfortunate family, Taeyong leaves the frantic crowd to return to his hut. He shuts the door close and hooks its lock before plopping down the tiny, single bed pressed against the wall. His mind is a whirlwind of thoughts – what to do, when to leave, where to go.

In spite of these murders the villagers cannot afford to abandon their source of living and risk it in the city. The city may be tempting but it holds no promises to the uneducated whose skills differ vastly. Farmers cannot plant and harvest crops within subdivisions. There are no fields to plow, no cows to milk, no goats to herd. Aside from those, what else do they know? Nothing. Why hire a farmer to be a delivery man when there’s an applicant with relevant experience?

Burying his face in calloused hands, Taeyong weighs his options. Pros and cons of going to the city clash in his head. He doesn’t have much money. How long will it last before he finds an affordable lodging? Is there even anything affordable there?

So many uncertainties await him but it offers the assurance that his body will not be the next they’d find in the streambank. Taeyong wants to live a long life. He may not find a job in the city right away but the city never sleeps, and he can be at peace albeit the hustle and bustle’s noise. Besides, there is never-ending chances in the city. Even if they won’t hire a farmer to become a cashier, Taeyong’s tenacity will aid him in landing any job, no matter how long it takes.

Determination springs him into action. Taeyong pulls out an old, duffle bag from under the bed and dusts it off before stuffing what little wardrobe he possesses. He doesn’t own much.

Zipping the bag close, he dumps it on the bed and peeks through the window. The streambank is a far distance from his hut but the wind blows the family’s chilling wails towards the houses. Men and women standing idly outside express their will to put an end to the malison bestowed in their village by a demon’s ally.

Taeyong shuts the window to sit on the bed, hugging the bag to his chest. He will wait until the sunset before leaving. Disappearing now may raise suspicions. Either way it will, no matter what time he goes, but at least they won’t be there to witness his departure. He is not guilty, his conscience is clean, but the villagers are currently riddled with intense emotions that may be pinned on him should they see him exit the hut.

For now, he will pray for the soul of that child and hope it finds the light at the end of the tunnel, and receive the justice for her untimely demise.

Little past twilight, when the only noise outside is the shrill droning of cicadas, Taeyong gets off his bed to blow the candle. Light retreats in a blink and cloaks his little house with darkness. He grabs his bag and whispers farewell to the things he cannot bring – the old pots where he cooks his meals, his lone pillow and blanket folded neatly on the bed, and his father’s meager belongings. The only ones he packed in his heart are the memories of his 25 years in this village.

Taeyong carefully makes way to the back of the hut where two of his hens are. They cluck and flap their wings as he takes them out of the cage, and they only quiet down after a few caresses. Someone has to continue taking care of them when he’s gone, and he knows the right person to give them to.

Scarce lamps illuminate the bumpy, narrow road to where his friend lives. Taeyong cradles the hens and promises they’ll be in good hands as he stops in front of a hut even smaller than his. Three soft knocks and Doyoung opens the door for him, eyeing him in surprise.

“Taeyong? What are you doing here?”

“May I come in?”

“Of course,” Doyoung’s gaze lands on the chickens in his friend’s arms as he closes the door behind Taeyong. “Is there a special occasion? It’s not your birthday, is it?”

“I didn’t bring them here so you could cook them.” Taeyong sighs, and refuses the other’s offer to take a seat on the bed. He won’t stay for long anyway. “They will be laying eggs soon. Either you cook the eggs or let them hatch, it’s your choice. They need a new owner.”

Doyoung’s brows crease. Beside him, the candle’s fire sways with the breeze of the wind coming through the window. It momentarily distorts their shadows. “Are you…going somewhere?”

If he’s asking Doyoung for a favor, it’s only fair to let him know why. After all, Doyoung is one of the few people Taeyong fully trusts in the village. The man relocated here about a year ago and with Taeyong’s age being the same as Doyoung’s, they instantly became friends.

Doyoung’s confusion morphs into sadness as soon as Taeyong finishes explaining. It’s only been a year and he’s not very social, so it’s sad to know that his closest friend will be leaving. Taeyong was the one who approached him first and welcomed him in his own house, shared his food and even helped him build a hut. But it’s not like he can keep Taeyong from packing up and wanting a better life. Wishing him well and taking care of the chickens are the simplest ways to express his gratitude.

Taking the hens from Taeyong, Doyoung swallows a lump in his throat and wears a small smile. Working in the field won’t be as tolerable anymore. “You should be careful, okay? I haven’t been to the city but I know it’s really nice there.”

Taeyong nods and grips the strap of the duffle bag. He will certainly miss Doyoung. “When things turn out great, I might visit. Or better yet, take you to Daegu with me. It is far challenging in the city but as long as we live, everything is possible. Don’t you want a bigger house? And a higher-paying job?”

“Who doesn’t want those?” Doyoung raises a brow and chuckles when his friend grins. “Don’t worry about me. What’s more important is you get out of here.” He briefly looks down when one of the hens cluck. “It’ll be nice to stay and witness peace come to this village.”

As he stares at his friend and take in the way the hens seem to settle comfortably in Doyoung’s arms, Taeyong pushes his worry in the back of his head. If only he had more money, he would bring Doyoung with him. But he knows the other doesn’t have much as well. “You have to be careful all the time, though. Don’t be too complacent. As long as they haven’t caught the culprit yet, you should be cautious.”

One glance out the window convinces Taeyong to wrap it up quickly. “Thank you for adopting the chickens…and for being my friend. You really made things easier since father died.”

“I should be the one thanking you.”

They hear the familiar sound of a cart’s wheels crashing stones on the rough road and Taeyong looks at his friend one last time, a goodbye conveyed by his eyes, before he makes his way out and hitches a ride to the city.

As he settles inside the confined space with sacks of rice, Taeyong watches the huts shrink inch by inch in preparation for his arrival to the unfamiliarity of metropolitan Daegu. He lies on one of the full sacks and closes his eyes, hoping to get a wink of sleep in spite of the anxiety crawling under his skin.

Several hours later, he will be living a different life. Without working for hours covered in dirt and grime, without news of unfortunate deaths, without the fear of dying in the hands of unseen evil.

Taeyong almost cries when he pays for the cab. He’s not sure of the distance his money can cover so he lets the driver take him as far as he can afford. He is then dropped off in front of a chapel and from there, Taeyong walks around looking for job postings on the walls and store windows. Most of the details are too hard to understand. His highest educational attainment only being third grade limits him to the basic information that immediately tell him he’s disqualified. It’s disheartening to know he’s denied even before he can apply, but Taeyong doesn’t stop.

Each establishment he walks into tells him he needs to pass a resumé, a paper containing his basic profile and work experience. They tell him to head to an internet café and come back, but based on the expressions of irritation and mockery on their faces, Taeyong doubts he’d get in. Why do they need a paper when he can just say it verbally in the interview? And wear a proper attire? What do janitors wear anyway?

Taeyong looks down his loose shirt and jeans. They’ve definitely seen better days. His shirt’s collar is loose from constant handwashing and his jeans are faded. His shoes don’t look bad at all! Worse for wear, yes, but doesn’t the tiny hole just speak of how hard working he is? The road back in the rural village is so uneven that sometimes he trips on rocks. Instead of physical appearance, shouldn’t employers look into the applicant’s sincerity and purpose? Because Taeyong has a lot of it.

Damn sincerity and purpose when you are homeless, though. For some reason, having no address poses as a threat and he is driven out of the stores and businesses as soon as he opens his mouth and tells them he’s got nowhere to go. They say honesty is the best policy, but it seems like honesty is going to kill him faster than the murderer back in their village.

The sun sets above the horizon with an empty-handed Taeyong finding himself in the subway. Streams of commuters get off trains and climb aboard as Taeyong’s stomach churns in hunger. The cheap bread he got from a bakery is half-eaten in his bag, saved for tomorrow. His last money went there and even public baths are expensive to someone like him. He’s not thick-skinned enough to sleep there and run away without paying. Bad karma will bite him in the ass later on.

To earn some money for another meal in case he fails to find a job the next day, Taeyong resorts to begging commuters for any amount they are willing to give. This is the only thing he can do at the moment so he won’t be hungry. It’s extremely embarrassing, considering he had a decent job as a small-time farmer but Taeyong swallows the shame as he thanks a student for measly coins. He knows what Daegu has in store for him when he decided to leave the village. This won’t be for long though, he muses, as he pockets the coins and avoids the questioning look a security guard shoots him. Taeyong doesn’t want to be thrown outside so he takes a break every now and then to avoid getting caught.

When a voice comes over the intercom to remind commuters of the last trip before the subway closes, Taeyong wakes up from a restless sleep and groggily leaves the subway to look for another place to rest. Thankfully, there’s a bus stop not far from the metro station so Taeyong sits on the bench and leans against the pole while waiting for himself to get lulled back to sleep.

Buses stop running eventually. A light drizzling momentarily startles Taeyong before he relaxes again when he realizes he’s under a shed.

Nightlife in metropolitan Daegu is a far cry from what he’s used to. Back in the rural village, it’s much too quiet to the point of eerie silence during the wee hours. There are no bars and shops open 24/7. Here in the city, the sun may switch places with the moon but the day doesn’t stop. People swarm the streets during daylight and even in the evening, they are abuzz with music, bright lights and chatters.

Even so, Taeyong falls asleep with his head pillowed by the hard, cold pole, hugging the duffle bag securely. He doesn’t have anything worth robbing but one can’t be too sure. The money he collected from begging in the subway balloons in one of the pockets inside the bag. Though little, it’s currently everything to Taeyong.

Strangers pass by without sparing the farmer a single glance as the scene isn’t anything new to them. They laugh and drink and go on their merry way without a hitch in their lives, as Taeyong dreams of a kinder morning.

Perhaps a kinder morning is too much to ask for.

How did the thief know where the money is? Taeyong didn’t even stir while they were at it. Was he that exhausted?

He wakes up to a slashed bag, shirt falling out and money gone. Taeyong feels the urge to lash out and displace his anger at anything – probably kick the bench, break the poster encased in a glass by the side of the shelter or simply scream his frustrations into the early Tuesday morning. But none of those can score him a job or find him a cheap room to rent.

Taking a few deep breaths to tame his anger, Taeyong picks up the clothes that fell out of his bag and turns it around so that the hole is pressed onto his torso. He contemplates between begging again and letting his feet take him anywhere, and he ends up choosing the latter. Begging for hours is a waste. Besides, the thief took pity on him and did not take his half-eaten bread. It won’t even give him a third of the energy he needs to walk all day but it will do for now. Better than nothing.

Both hands grip his bag tight (someone might take interest on his farmer clothes, who knows?) as he saunters towards the shops. One by one he enters and asks if they’re hiring a helper, and one by one they reject him. They keep telling him to pass a resumé – how is he going to do that without money for printing, much less renting a PC? Can’t they be a little considerate?

 _City people are cruel_ , Taeyong’s mind echoes while munching on the bread piece by tiny piece as he walks here and there. Being in the heart of the city leaves him only a few, small shops where he can have higher chances of getting hired.

He searches for work until noon, rests for an hour, before hitting the road again. Water is free in public parks, luckily. Taeyong drinks greedily until the line behind him grows and someone complains about him hogging the drinking fountain. _Wow,_ he can’t even indulge himself with free water without being driven away by entitled people.

A PC Bang waves at him after another hour of non-stop job searching. Mustering enough courage, Taeyong gets in and asks the man behind the counter if he could make Taeyong a resumé and print it for free as an early Christmas gift. Should’ve known it’s a futile attempt but the owner didn’t have to yell at him and threaten to call the police.

Hopelessness begins to seep into his bones the farther he walks and the quieter the streets get. The sun beats down on him and even though he’s used to its unforgiving heat as a farmer all his life, Taeyong starts to pant with exhaustion. Pollution makes the weather harsher in the city.

Business establishments gradually lessen as his legs lead him forward continuously. Taeyong has no idea where he’s going. No one wants to help him and now, it looks like he has entered a rich neighborhood – surely, opportunities are even more impossible to find within an area consisting the condescending, wealthy members of society.

 _Are they not looking for a housekeeper?_ The question rings in his head over and over as he goes house to house, trying his chances, only to despondently approach another mansion.

His stomach rumbles once again, he feels hot, his vision spins. God, a fever can’t hold him back now. His stroke of luck is yet to come.

Breathing shallow, Taeyong forces himself to go to the next house. It’s as huge as the others but looks dreary and borderline haunted. Abandoned? Can be, but there’s a posh car parked in the garage so someone must be inside.

After standing there for a minute knocking and calling for somebody, his legs give up on him and Taeyong leans his weight against the rusty gates, clutching its grills. “H-hello, is anybody there?” Weak and feverish he waits for someone but no one comes out. Something tells him that this might be his last chance before he passes out so Taeyong calls once again, relentlessly knocks on the gates and even presses the doorbell. It’s broken.

“Somebody…” His vision blurs and spins faster, and Taeyong manages to breathe out a silent _help_ before finally collapsing outside the gates with nobody around to lend a hand.

Turning off the shower, he steps out of the stall and towels his skin before putting on a robe. Obviously, he didn’t dry enough as droplets of water cascade his body even as he stands before the full-length mirror in his bedroom to get dressed. Jaehyun drops the robe, dabs the towel all over him once again before finally putting on a pair of trousers and dress shirt. He’s not going anywhere. Sales report of the restaurants and other updates he needed to review were done at the office yesterday. It’s just his go-to fashion even at home.

His home that looks more like a mansion haunted by malevolent spirits than a luxurious residence with its depressing ambiance courtesy of thick, closed curtains, lack of presence other than his, and the deafening silence. Though somehow, he has no qualms with the dimness of the room and the eerie creaking of his door. Jaehyun makes up a mental excuse that it’s just the wind as he locks the last button of his shirt, completely aware that there’s no way his door moves because of the that.

The curtains are shut, remember?

Ghosts don’t scare him. As a matter of fact, they pique his interest – one of the reasons why the dreary state of his mansion doesn’t concern him. He likes it haunted-looking. Paranormal has been the joy of his life and probably the very reason why he grew up to be a strange, socially awkward man that nobody wants to befriend outside of work. His weird interest aside, he also effortlessly gives off an intimidating aura.

Must be why ridiculous rumors stemming from his wealthy, nosy neighbors float around. Jaehyun can’t blame them, though. He himself admits that he indeed looks terrifying. With that long scar across his right eye that he hides with an eye-patch? They think he’s a lost pirate or something viler that will kidnap their children one of these days.

What a load of bullocks. If they made an effort to know him past the large empty house with faux animal heads hanging on the walls, ceilings with cobwebs and the over-all Halloween vibe he emanates, they’d know he’s a nice man with a soft spot for animals. Jaehyun adores animals and has penchant for gardening. He sucks at it, by the way. He really should just stick to being a restaurateur.

Because of those rumors he rarely goes out if he’s not at the restaurants, office, or volunteering at the animal shelter. He once made the mistake of jogging in the morning and some father he doesn’t recognize but probably lives in the neighborhood pointed at him to scare his stubborn kid.

Just because he’s wearing an eye-patch and it makes him look suspicious, doesn’t mean he’s a criminal, for fuck’s sake. He’s far from that. He’s got a real job and is a regular donor to animal shelters. He’s this close to just walking up to them and asking them to come up with a better accusation because it’s honestly insulting. Say, like the reason why he has that ugly scar across his eye, that resembles lightning.

But would they believe it if he tells them he’s a witch hunter, that his right eye was blinded and permanently shut by a witch during an encounter before they were beheaded by his father? Would they believe him if he tells them they hunted sorcerers for years and killed the last evil witch 5 years ago? Would they believe witches are real, in the first place?

Come to think of it, their cautiousness towards him is valid but for the wrong reasons.

Jaehyun starts towel drying his hair. Thinking about the gossips surrounding him can’t help the flashback. Some members of his family on the father’s side are hunters, but since the defeat of the last evil witch, most of them retired and are now living in Zen in different parts of the world. His parents are back in Connecticut where he was born, leaving him lonely in this god-forsaken mansion.

Hanging the towel, he grabs the black eye-patch on the nightstand and wears it. When it’s off, his long fringe conceals the unpleasant sight. Such a shame to lose half of his ability to see and be presented with this hideous reminder every time he looks in the mirror. There’s no eyeball in the right socket. Taken out in the surgery. Irreparable, the doctor said. It didn’t bother him that time and it doesn’t bother him now, only that it’s unattractive and fuels the absurd rumors about him.

There’s nothing he can do about it now, right? Looking for a donor is just a pain in the ass.

His gaze then darts over to the sword hanging on the wall above the headboard of his bed. It’s been 5 years since the conclusion of his life as a witch hunter but not once did he think of disposing it. After all, it’s the utmost evidence of his victories against the dark sorcerers.

Somehow only a blade crafted from rare materials can kill a witch. They are not immortal but a bullet melts in their flesh, and they can only be assassinated through a stab to the heart or beheading, and burning. Defeating them is risky for hunters have to stealthily sneak up on them to avoid being discovered because once they are seen, they cannot fight the incantations.

And how do hunters know if the person before them is a dark witch? A satanic mark is usually visible on the exposed parts of their bodies – neck, arms, even on the face. Hardly did they encounter ones whose marks are hidden.

To be fair, not all witches are evil. However, those that wish no harm upon others are scarce. They are counted on both hands and because they have no ill-intent towards the innocent, they do not even mingle. Where they hide, Jaehyun doesn’t know. His father merely told him before that they do exist, but were profoundly outnumbered by sinister witches.

Now, their population counters no one for the evil witches are gone, and Jaehyun even witnessed the demise of their last descendant.

The loud creaking of the door steals his attention. Jaehyun sighs and slips the watch around his wrist before leaving his bedroom with the slam of the door just to spite the ghost disturbing him.

Climbing down the grand staircase, he thinks of how to spend the day without dying of boredom. Visit the shelter? It’s scheduled for fogging. Supervise at one of the restaurants? They said they work more efficiently when no one’s breathing down their neck every hour. Go to the office? His assistant practically barked at him on the phone earlier to remind him there’s nothing in his calendar.

Damn. It’s like everyone collectively agreed to get rid of him today. Should he just watch his favorite horror movies?

Tempting.

Except that when he goes out to briefly check on his dying plants, his plans take a detour at the sight of an unconscious man on the ground just outside his gates. Jaehyun hurries to open it and looks around for anyone that might be with the unconscious stranger. Nobody. The street is empty. Dangers that entail the prospect of taking the man in his house flash rapidly in his head but this stranger can’t possibly be a serial killer, right? Who even kills at broad daylight and out in the open where the whole neighborhood can be rattled with a single sound of gunshot?

Jaehyun values his safety, but if he ever feels the need to protect himself, he’s fully capable of doing just that.

Scooping the man in his arms, Jaehyun carries him inside the mansion and quickly lays him in his bed. Cannot put him in one of the spare rooms because it’s been two years since the last time they were cleaned and they are most likely covered in dust now. He puts away the tattered duffle bag and touches the man’s forehead–he’s burning. The stranger is running a high fever.

Suddenly filled with worry for the unfamiliar person, Jaehyun fetches a basin of water and a small towel from the bathroom. With those in hand he comes back and kneels next to the bed to start wiping the man’s face. Should he wake the other and let him take medicines or let him sleep for a while?

As he gently wipes the man’s cheeks, the latter murmurs indecipherably in his sleep. Jaehyun cannot pick up a single word to give him a hint what the man might be talking about, but the latter sounds distressed. He then leans in to listen clearly and finally registers a few from the string of nonsense.

Children, chickens, job.

Not a single correlation is found. Thinking that the stranger is just having a silly dream caused by the high fever, Jaehyun focuses on wiping down his face and neck before rinsing the towel, folding it and leaving it on the man’s forehead. He then tugs the covers up the other’s shoulders and proceeds to leave the bedroom so the stranger can rest well, and heads to the kitchen.

Medicines will alleviate the pains but a good meal will quicken his recovery. The man is still lucky he passed out before the house where a kind person lives, huh? The neighborhood may be wealthy but not everyone there possesses a heart of gold. Jeong Jaehyun is honestly their saving grace but sadly painted in a bad light.

Jaehyun dismisses it and opens his double-door fridge. Now, what should he make for his unexpected guest?

_Galbitang_ is one of Jaehyun’s specialties so he ends up cooking it for the sick stranger – and also for himself. It’s been a while since he cooked for someone else so it’s not weird that he feels great making it, especially when he takes a sip of the soup. His skills truly do not wane.

Jaehyun fills a bowl and puts it on a tray together with a pair of chopsticks, a spoon, and a glass of water. The pill sits right next to it. Carefully, he brings it upstairs and puts it on the bedside table.

The towel on the sleeping man’s forehead is already drying when he touches it. Jaehyun frowns as he adjusts the air condition’s temperature.

The bed slightly dips from Jaehyun’s weight as he sits on the edge and rinses the towel. Glancing down the stranger’s chest, he wonders if he should take off his shirt so he can properly wipe down his body. Doesn’t it help break a fever? Oh well. He will never know unless he tries. Plus, the man needs to wake up soon so he can eat the _Galbitang_ while it’s hot. 

He puts the towel away and tugs on the man’s shirt. Yet as he’s about to expose the other’s chest, a scream shatters his ear drums before strong hands shove him off the bed, causing him to lose balance and fall – but not without accidentally knocking off the basin full of water.

In a blink of an eye Jaehyun has plopped pathetically on his ass on the floor, drenched with a flipped basin acting like a hat on his head.

“Who are you?!” A scandalized Taeyong grips the covers, eyes shifting between the unmoving man and his own chest. He was in the middle of a dream he cannot remember anymore, feeling as though he was being stirred out of sleep. Turns out that this man was trying to strip him!

Nothing happened, right? Thank goodness! Where is he anyway? How did he get here? Why is it so dark? What happened to him?

So many questions swarm like flies in his mind as he takes in his surroundings. A quick glimpse around gives him a stag’s head that hangs just above the door, its sharp, solid antlers stretching threateningly. Just behind him is a long, unsheathed sword. The sheets on the bed is black just like the rest of this room.

Ominous. The word Taeyong is looking for to encapsulate the aura of this room is ominous, as though something bad is about to happen.

Why wouldn’t he think of it, when the man still hasn’t moved from the floor while the basin on his head wobbles unstably? Is he okay? Did he hit his head when he fell?

Jaehyun blinks a few times, gaze directed towards the small puddle between his legs. Why did he fill the basin in the first place? If he didn’t get so much water, he wouldn’t be so drenched. But first of all, the man didn’t have to shove him so hard, correct?

As he comes to his senses, he realizes that his guest is hurling questions after questions towards him. Jaehyun stands up, puts the basin away and finally looks at the stranger.

Oh.

His eyes are the most beautiful Jaehyun has ever seen. Long lashes that fan over his cheekbones when he blinks, black pools that will surely catch all the light in the room if they were switched on, and they are so expressive it winds Jaehyun for a moment.

“…Hello? Who are you? Did you kidnap me? Are you going to kill me?!”

For a sick person, this one is so damn loud.

“You collapsed in front of my house and I brought you in.”

Taeyong doesn’t know what he’s expecting, but certainly not that deep, velvety tone – and also not that chest he can see through the soaked shirt. Clearing his throat, he diverts his gaze towards the source of that mouth-watering smell. Is that soup for him? Did the man cook it?

Wait a second. He shouldn’t get distracted. This might be a ploy to drug him and sell him to the mafia, whatever they are called.

“Uh… I remember feeling sick. Thank you for helping me. But why were you trying to take my shirt off?” Taeyong squints at the man. “Caring for a sick person you do not know doesn’t require stripping them.”

This man in his bed is a chatterbox. Jaehyun takes a deep breath and goes to the other side to place the tray next to the stranger. “I was going to wipe down your body thinking it would help break the fever, but it seems I committed a mistake. For that, I apologize. I didn’t mean to overstep my boundaries and disrespect you.”

God, the formal language is splitting Taeyong’s head even more. But aside from that, his head hurts as well from the shame that eats away at him after realizing what he did towards the only person that opened their doors for him. The man looks at him expectantly ( _“what’s with the eyepatch?”_ ). Is he waiting for an apology?

Right.

Taeyong rubs the back of his neck. He still feels hot. The fever hasn’t broken. “No, I should be the one apologizing. You helped me even though you don’t know who I am, even made me something to eat. I’m sorry – I thought you were going to do something inappropriate.”

“I’m not that kind of person.”

“I know…” Does he? Of course not. Though the man is kind enough to take him in, Taeyong still needs to be wary. Nevertheless, a guilty sigh escapes him before he glances up the man and puts the tray on his lap. There is even a medicine he can take after eating. “Thank you for helping me. Are you sure you’re not a gangster?”

“…I’m a restaurateur.”

“Oh. Okay. Sorry again.” Taeyong mentally slaps himself before taking a sip of the broth.

Jaehyun releases the breath he’s been holding when the stranger begins to eat. He stands there awkwardly, waiting for the other’s reaction.

The way those pretty eyes light up tells Jaehyun he did a good job. “Please finish eating so you can take the pill. After that, you can use the bathroom to wash up.” When the stranger nods, Jaehyun takes out a shirt from the closet and heads to the door. “Meet me downstairs when you’re done. We need to talk.”

Taeyong exhales the nervousness as soon as he’s left alone. The guy, despite his nice gestures, is undeniably intimidating. His aura looms over Taeyong as though it can easily cover him.

Looking at the door, Taeyong wonders what could the man wish to discuss. Will he be asked to pay for the shirt? Or the ingredients used to make this delicious _Galbitang_? Taeyong has no money!

For a second, he considers taking his sweet time to eat and shower so by the time he’s done, maybe the man will be bored out of his wits and simply let him leave.

Yet something tells Taeyong that it won’t be the case. Hence with low spirits, he continues to eat and focuses on the burst of rich flavors in his mouth, and not the gaze of the stag burning holes on his head.

This mansion really brims with ghostly energy without lights on.

Back in the rural village, showering was as easy as 1 2 3. Fetch pails of water, bathe behind the hut, and that’s it. It was nothing fun. But showering in rich people’s bathrooms is a different story. Taeyong startles when he turns on the shower. It was cold at first and then the temperature changes gradually to warm. There are several bottles of body wash and shampoo that he never had to use before because a single bar of local soap was enough to rid his body of dirt.

When he finishes, he smells heavenly and feels as though it’s his first time to shower and actually be thoroughly clean. Which is embarrassing to admit, but the lifestyle in that poor village is drastically different.

Taeyong forgoes the robe and suits himself with just a towel. Wearing something of the master of this house without permission is utterly invasive.

He thought he’d finally forget the way those lifeless eyes of the stag’s head burned on him, but as he puts on the cleanest pair of clothes he has, the unnerving feeling is back again to crawl under his skin. Taeyong does his best to towel dry his hair and when he cannot take it anymore, he saunters towards the high windows and tugs the curtains open to let light stream into the room.

And boy does that make a miracle. The ominous atmosphere lessens as soon as the room brightens with natural light. The stag’s eyes do not make him feel uneasy and in general, the ambiance isn’t as suffocating and heavy.

“That’s better,” Taeyong says with a smile as he takes a look around. Remembering that the man is still waiting to talk to him, he quickly picks up the tray and sets to find the other – which proves to be a little difficult because this house is _huge._ If he didn’t know better, he’d think he was in a maze.

He’s just about to cry for help when he finally finds the grand staircase leading downstairs. The crimson carpet suppresses the sound of his footsteps. Its intricate design must align with its price, although the sheer lack of washing tampers its classiness.

It doesn’t look as spooky outside the bedroom since most of the windows are open, but the several faux animal heads that welcome him at every turn doesn’t fail to make the hairs on his arms raise just a little bit. Considering that he came from a village where people are suspecting an evil witch to be the murderer of their children, the creepiness this house exudes speaks a lot.

There are two entryways when he reaches the first floor. Trusting his gut instincts, Taeyong enters the one in the right and spots the kitchen area. He cautiously puts the tray in the sink and struggles for a minute to use the pull-out faucet as he washes the empty bowl.

For a while he washes everything peacefully, humming a familiar song under his breath when he’s disrupted without a warning.

“Excuse me.”

“Ah –!” Taeyong jumps back in shock, unintentionally spraying tap water at Jaehyun’s face. Horror dawns on him and he quickly drops the pull-out faucet just as Jaehyun wordlessly grabs a box of tissue from atop the refrigerator to dab on his drenched face.

Jesus Christ. How many times is Taeyong going to wrong this man?

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry – you didn’t have to sneak up on me like that. Look what happened!”

Sighing softly, Jaehyun crumples the tissue and disposes them in the bin under the sink. He’s not even mad. And to be honest, he’s partially to blame. His social awkwardness prevents him from approaching others like normal people do. Well, in his defense he said _excuse me._ Not his fault the man didn’t hear his steps.

“You didn’t have to wash that. And I apologize for sneaking up on you. I would’ve called your name first but I don’t know it.”

The look of panic on Taeyong’s face vanishes as relief washes over him. “It’s Lee Taeyong. And I’m sorry too for making you wet yet again.”

“…Can you please reword that? It sounds awkward.”

“What is…?” Taeyong blinks in confusion, even more when the other shrugs it off before telling him to leave the utensils in the sink and follow him to the living room.

He only tails Jaehyun after washing his hands, and openly marvels at the interior of the living room. It reminds Taeyong of an era he never lived. Victorian, is that it? He saw some photos when he was a kid, brought by a foreigner who interviewed some of the villagers for a documentary.

It’s breath-taking, but the tiny cobwebs on the ceiling really needs to go. They just add into the spooky vibe the mansion gives off.

Taeyong sits down on a chair adjacent to the other. “Um, what do you want to talk about?”

“Has your fever gone down yet?” Jaehyun asks as he stares right at the stranger, arms crossed.

A touch on his forehead then one on the side of his neck confirms that Taeyong is still sick. “I still feel a little dizzy, but I took the medicine already. And the food most certainly helped. It was good.”

“Is it your favorite?”

Taeyong chuckles. “Ah, no. When you’re poor, you can’t have favorites – or you can have one, but it’s your favorite because it’s what you always eat. We don’t get to eat what the city can offer anytime.”

The restaurateur’s brows crease. “What do you mean?”

“I’m a farmer from the Daegu countryside.” Taeyong says, figuring that’s what the man is curious about. “It’s a field of rice and vegetables everywhere. We take care of cows and goats not for us to eat but to sell. Most of the time. It would be a waste to slaughter cows for the beef that won’t last a day so the meals are always rice and soup, porridge, anything we can make with the vegetables and eggs. Corn is a good alternative, too.”

“How long have you been living in the countryside?”

“All my life.”

“And farming was all you did?”

“It was everything the rural village can offer.” Taeyong licks his lips in uncertainty. “Pardon me for wondering, but are you just going to ask basic questions?”

Jaehyun averts his gaze. Seems like his guest is quick to catch on. “Basic questions are what you ask a stranger if you want to get to know them. You don’t simply ask someone you just met about their dreams, failures, and dark secrets, do you?”

“That’s a good point. But sir…?”

“Jeong Jaehyun.”

“But sir Jaehyun –” The name rolls smoothly off of Taeyong’s tongue. “– I believe your ask these questions to people you wish to get to know because you expect to meet them again, right? You expect to see them for a while. Maybe talk to them every other day. Because you want to familiarize yourself with them. It isn’t like the interrogation offends me or anything, sir, but you don’t have to get to know me if I have to leave as soon as possible...”

Taeyong’s perception truthfully impresses Jaehyun, and it shows on the tiny quirk of his mouth. “You’re very perceptive. Anyway, I’ve been thinking since earlier because you didn’t look like you came from this neighborhood, no offense meant. Passed out sick and alone, perhaps you have nowhere to go?”

Should he tell Jaehyun the complete truth? Some things are better left unsaid, though. And that grisly detail about his life might hinder him from making it in the city.

“I left the village because I want to start a new life here. Although two days have already passed and I’m yet to see what Daegu has in store for someone like me. I only got to finish third grade. Limited opportunities are hard to find.”

Hopelessness begin to sift through Taeyong’s heart again. He was highly determined at first, yet after being refused even for the easiest jobs that don’t require much skills, it’s hard to remain positive.

The farmer’s disappointment is so palpable that even Jaehyun feels it. Those eyes speak what the mouth can’t. And Jaehyun realizes sadness doesn’t suit Taeyong as much as glee when the latter tasted his _Galbitang._ “To be honest, the questions were only to confirm whether or not you’re in need of help. Because I can’t offer one to someone who doesn’t need it. Wouldn’t that be offensive?”

He gets up and stands before the ceiling-to-floor window overlooking the wilting flowers lining the plant box on one side. Jaehyun pockets his hands, taking in the pitiful sight. “I’m willing to help you, Taeyong. Whatever you need, tell me.”

Disbelief etches itself on Taeyong’s face. “Sir…? Are you serious?”

Jaehyun glances back over his shoulder, the side of his face with an eyepatch more visible. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”

Who knew that help would be the one to look for him? Hope fills the farmer again, hands gripping the fabric of his pants. “I just– I just need help making a resumé. Do you have a computer? They want me to send a resumé so I can get interviewed–”

“They’re not going to hire you,” Jaehyun cuts him off.

“It’s okay. I’ll keep applying. Do you have a printer too? I might need at least 10 copies…”

Jaehyun merely watches as Taeyong recites his plans of flipping the city just to look for low paying jobs, while questioning himself why he’s suddenly willing to entertain what’s possibly the most impulsive decision he’s ever made to date.

As he catches the subtle twinkling in Taeyong’s gaze induced by excitement, Jaehyun soon discovers that it’s the enchanting pair of eyes that is pushing the ridiculous notion in his head.

“I have a better idea, though.” Jaehyun begins as he turns around to face the other. “This was never a concern to me before solely because it doesn’t bother me. As you can see, the mansion needs quite a bit of cleaning. Given that you were a farmer, you might also want to help take care of my garden too. I tried to grow vegetables in the backyard but they just don’t produce anything. The plants keep wilting no matter what I do. They said I should consult an expert and although you’re not exactly a gardener, you know how to plant crops. So, I guess that’s good enough.” He takes a seat again, elbows resting on his knees as he leans close to Taeyong. “Would you like to work for me?”

The proximity of their faces makes it a little hard for Taeyong to breathe, for some reason. He subtly pulls back just to keep himself from looking somewhere other than Jaehyun’s eyes (or eye, since the other is covered). “Like a servant?”

That doesn’t sit right with Jaehyun. “Like a helper. I let go of the previous housekeepers because I didn’t need them. But you said you need work and I can give you one. Will you accept it? There are many rooms here, too. Basically, it’s a stay-in job. No need to look for a cheap apartment to rent. Nothing is cheap in Daegu.”

“That’s…that’s very generous of you, sir Jaehyun.” Yesterday, it felt like plucking stars from the sky was easier than finding a decent job. Today, blessings pour and Taeyong’s heart overflows with gratefulness.

Jaehyun reclines against the seat. “Don’t mind it. You’re accepting it, are you?” Why does it sound like he’s more desperate to hire Taeyong?

“Why, of course!” The excited farmer clasps his hands together. “Thank you! I will work hard to clean around, cook, do the laundry–anything!”

Since that’s settled, Jaehyun pulls up some contract templates on his phone he can edit for later. “We need to discuss your salary.”

“I don’t need it?” Seeing the confusion on his new employer’s face, Taeyong proceeds to explain. “Well, maybe I do, but I needed the money to pay for food and apartment and since this is a stay-in job…’

“The law says I will get jailed if I don’t pay you as you deserve. You’ll be signing an agreement later which will hold the both of us accountable should a breach happens. You can just save the money. Do what you want with it. It’s yours. Doesn’t that make more sense?”

Taeyong nods and looks around to hide the color of embarrassment on his face. “Should I go around the house now?”

“What?”

“So I know where to go – I kind of got lost earlier, haha.”

Jaehyun frowns a bit. “You’re still sick. What you need to do right now is take a rest and when you feel better tomorrow, I’ll give you a house tour. You shouldn’t go alone.”

Ah, that’s another point made by his boss. This fever is surely taking away Taeyong’s common sense. “Where are the sleeping quarters for housekeepers?”

“West wing,” Jaehyun says as he pockets his phone and looks at Taeyong. “But they haven’t been cleaned. Sheets unwashed. For now, you can sleep in my room–”

“What?!”

What’s got the other looking so scandalized for? Jaehyun raises a brow. “You’ve seen the master’s bedroom, didn’t you? It’s huge. You can sleep on the couch there. Tomorrow, _if_ you’re not sick anymore, you can clean one of the guest rooms and move there. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Did he say something wrong?

Taeyong shifts in his seat and clears his throat. “I’ve never heard of an employer that lets their helper sleep in the same room with them.”

“Oh,” Jaehyun still fails to find the fault in that. “I must admit the arrangement is indeed unusual, but like I said the other rooms are unclean. And you already slept in my bed. What’s the issue?”

“That’s dangerous.”

“Huh. If you put it that way…” Jaehyun props an elbow on the armrest as he rubs his chin in thought. “The question is, are you going to harm me? In my own house? What do you even have with you? Harming your boss is one thing. Using your boss’ knife is another. That’s utter shamelessness.”

Right then, Taeyong remembers the razor-sharp blade of the sword perched on the wall in his boss’ bedroom. Cold shiver runs down his spine. If there’s anyone who should be wary, it’s him. What’s even the purpose of keeping a sword? “I’ll have you know I’m completely harmless.” Though if it ever comes down to when he needs to defend himself, Taeyong can confidently say he’s strong enough to body slam Jaehyun.

Years of plowing and carrying sacks of produce up rough roads resulted in impressive arm and leg strength. Taeyong hopes he wouldn’t have to showcase that, ever.

His new employer’s voice tugs him back to the present. “Very well. Come on, you need to take a rest.”

Jaehyun leads the way back upstairs. The face he makes upon seeing a brightly lit room makes Taeyong a little nervous.

“Oh, sorry. It felt suffocating so I opened the curtains. I hope you don’t mind…?” Who is Taeyong fooling? That was so presumptuous of him. “But it’s less scary now!”

If only he knew his boss is into paranormal and would _love_ to transform his house into a haunted mansion and open it for everyone on Halloween.

Squinting menacingly at the beam of sunlight touching his carpeted floor, Jaehyun moves to grab extra pillows and a blanket from his massive closet, and lays them on the spacious couch on the left side of the room. “If you’re not comfortable on the couch, I will look for a spare mattress.”

“No, this is fine. Thank you. I lived in a small hut in the countryside and my straw bed was small.” Taeyong sits down on the couch. The blanket is a hundred times softer than the one he left in the hut. “You have no idea how comfortable this is.” All of a sudden, he feels guilty for getting to experience this. Like he doesn’t deserve it. “I can close the curtains later.”

Oblivious to the other’s thoughts, Jaehyun nods and turns on the television before handing the remote to Taeyong. It totally looks like the roles are reversed, but he doesn’t mind. His helper is sick. “You can change the channels if you don’t like the show. Just please turn it off when you want to sleep.”

“How about dinner, sir? What time do you usually eat? I’ll go down later to cook.”

“I made a lot of _Galbitang._ Don’t push yourself too much. I’ll just bring you something to eat so you can take another pill.”

Taeyong really scored himself the best boss on earth, huh? Who even takes care of their helpers the way Jaehyun does? Cooking for them, letting them sleep in the master’s bedroom (as bizarre as it sounds). He must have done a miracle in his past life to meet a ~~n overly~~ very caring employer.

When Jaehyun leaves him alone to do god knows that, Taeyong fluffs the pillows and lies down. He’s not in bed but Taeyong will not trade this comfort for the world. Living in the poorest part of the countryside for the past 25 years makes him appreciate everything at the moment.

He badly wishes to get better tomorrow so that he can make it up for his boss and officially start working. Given the size of this mansion, it will take him weeks to clean every nook and cranny by himself but he’s not complaining. He’s getting paid higher than all his previous earnings combined, there’s free food, and the guest room probably looks just as good as this. There’s unlimited supply of clean water, too!

 _This is the epitome of paradise,_ Taeyong muses as he snuggles underneath the blanket.

While mindlessly flipping channels, he wonders how the next days will unfold for him and his kind yet enigmatic boss. Everyone gets curious about everything and it’s only normal to crave more details about Jaehyun, right? What is his job again, something that has to do with restaurants?

Taeyong wants to ask a lot of questions but the one thing he itches to know the most is the story behind that eyepatch.

Perhaps he’ll know soon.

Jaehyun is expecting to see Taeyong still asleep on the couch the next morning but when he wakes up at 7, still relatively early on a day he doesn’t have to go to the office, his helper is already gone. The blanket is neatly folded on the pillow and the couch is already cold to the touch. Taeyong must have been out for a while.

After doing his morning routine in the bathroom, Jaehyun adjusts his eyepatch (he kept it on the whole night because of Taeyong) and catches a whiff of nicely fried eggs as he steps into the dining area. There he sees Taeyong trying to set the table, frowning in confusion over the varying utensils.

“Good morning?”

“Good morning, sir! I don’t know what you eat in the morning but a sunny side up egg is a universal breakfast, right? That, and some rice. Tomorrow, I promise to prepare you a better meal.” Taeyong grins before glaring at the utensils once again. “Do you seriously use all of these? These are all forks and spoons but with different sizes. But I’m sure you use this smaller knife.” He pulls the chair for Jaehyun to sit and looks proud doing it. “Call me when you need something.”

Jaehyun spreads the napkin on his lap and looks at his helper. “What time did you wake up?”

“At 5. Figured I should sweep outside before cooking. Good thing the broomstick’s just there because I don’t know where the storage room is.”

This must be Taeyong’s everyday routine, no? Wake up early, clean around, make breakfast, go to work.

Jaehyun glances at the electric stove that looks untouched. “How did you cook?”

Taeyong internally winces, calloused hands holding onto one of the seats. “You have to understand, sir Jaehyun, that I grew up in a place where we make fire so we can cook. There’s no electric stove in that village.” At the inquisitive gaze thrown at him, Taeyong scratches his head apologetically before pointing to the direction of the living room. “I lit your fireplace and put the pot of rice there.” He then fishes out a box of matchsticks, slowly putting it on the table. “Found this and some old newspapers. Don’t worry, I didn’t burn anything! And I put out the fire as soon as I’m done.”

Stunned is an understatement. A chuckle of disbelief escapes Jaehyun as he cuts the egg yolk and spreads it all over his rice. “Then I’ll teach you how to use everything in this house. Come sit,” he pats the table, beckoning Taeyong to sit next to him. “I can’t eat five eggs. Pretty sure you haven’t eaten breakfast yet. Do you feel better now?”

Glad that his boss isn’t mad at him, Taeyong relaxes as soon as he settles down with his own plate and spoon. “My fever is gone. Your _Galbitang_ is a miracle pill. Is it really okay to join you like this? I should only eat after you.”

“Who said so?” Jaehyun asks with a mouthful of rice. “You’re not a servant.” Looks like Taeyong wouldn’t start eating if he doesn’t say so, so Jaehyun pulls the plate of eggs closer to the other and smiles as Taeyong digs in. Only then does he notice today’s newspaper on the side and flips it open to read while eating.

“Sir, are you going to work today?”

“No, I don’t have to go to the office everyday. Sometimes I look over the restaurants myself and twice a week I volunteer at the animal shelter. You probably should know my schedule because I don’t eat lunch here on those days. When I’m not around, you only need to make enough for your own lunch and then dinner. I’ll let you know if I’m coming back late.”

“Are you going to call?”

“That, or text.”

“I don’t have a cellphone, sir…”

Jaehyun whips his head towards Taeyong. “I don’t have a landline.”

“Then how are you gonna call me?” Taeyong pushes the rice on one side of his mouth and chews slowly, his right cheek puffed out.

“How in the world do you not have a cellphone?” Jaehyun asks dumbfoundedly before remembering Taeyong’s old lifestyle. He mutters an apology and folds the newspaper. “I already unlocked the guest room closest to mine. Dust it off, sweep and mop the floor. The sheets, pillowcase and blanket are in the drawer but please check first if they still smell fine. After that, you can wash up in the common bathroom at the end of the hallway. There are like, two. Use either of them.”

“Are we going somewhere?”

“How am I going to contact you if you don’t have a phone? I’m going to get you one, of course.” Jaehyun holds up a finger just as Taeyong opens his mouth to protest. “The duffle bag you have, are those your clothes?”

Taeyong nods, piece of egg hanging between his lips as he munches like a rabbit. For some reason, Jaehyun’s heart skips a beat at the sight.

“Do you fancy wearing your boss’ clothes?”

The helper almost chokes.

“Thought so. We’ll go to the mall today, get you a phone and some clothes.”

Taeyong pours himself a glass of water and washes down his food with it, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand before giving Jaehyun a wide-eyed stare. “Isn’t that too much? I don’t need new clothes. About the phone… I understand that I need one so you can notify me anytime, but please don’t get those high-tech models. As long as the calls and messages go through, it’s good enough.”

The two hold a staredown as Jaehyun thoughtlessly tongues the inside of his cheek. In the end, Taeyong gives up while Jaehyun smirks victoriously.

There isn’t a verbal confirmation but they both know they’re not leaving the mall with a cheap cellphone and few pairs of shirt and pants for Taeyong. 

Throughout the ride, Taeyong gawks at the interior of Jaehyun’s car. He’s like a child going on a field trip for the first time and it kind of saddens Jaehyun, thinking about all the people that will never get to experience the simplest things for those with money.

He lets his helper throw every kind of question and doesn’t get annoyed answering even the most basic things. Which button does what, how fast the car can go, what all these compartments are for.

Taeyong’s excitement shows on the way he can’t stop bouncing his leg. The air condition is focused on him and it’s so cold, just like Jaehyun’s bedroom. His thin shirt cannot keep him warm at the moment unlike the thick, fluffy blanket that was lent to him. He bobs his head to the music coming from the stereo, silently jamming to each song until they arrive at the mall.

His excitement doesn’t die down. Only he would find riding the escalator fun and be amazed at the numerous bright lights on the ceiling, asking how much the mall owner pays for the electricity bill monthly. Jaehyun gives him an estimate, basing it on the bills his restaurants and the office pays and stifles a smile as Taeyong’s jaw drops to the floor.

In actuality, Taeyong already knows it would be expensive but he didn’t know it would be _that_ expensive. It’s a good thing that these stores selling high-end brands are garnering money or else, the mall owner wouldn’t be able to earn from the rents, right?

Primarily, they wouldn’t sell if customers couldn’t afford their products. Taeyong imagines entering one of these shops and leaving with a bag or two and not even bothered about the bills he just spent. Must be a great life to live. No worries, just facing the day with ease knowing they can pay for anything they want.

_I wonder how sir Jaehyun started. Did he start from scratch or is he financially capable all along?_

They enter the _Apple_ store and Taeyong instantly reels at the sight of iPhones lined up on a table. None in the rural village has ever owned one but he knows this costs a fortune. “Sir Jaehyun, aren’t we in the wrong store?” As soon as that comes out of his mouth, one of the staff looks him up and down. Taeyong doesn’t mind – his outfit isn’t exactly worn by those that shop in a place like this – and continues to tail Jaehyun as the latter begins inspecting the phones one by one. “I think the store next door has cheaper phones…”

“I am well aware of that, Taeyong. But this has better specs.”

Specs? What specs? Taeyong doesn’t care about that. Inwardly panicking, he attempts to tug his boss out of the Apple store a few more times and just as he’s about to drop on the floor, Jaehyun caves in and allows himself to be dragged to _Samsung._

“These are just as expensive.”

“Yes, but they offer cheaper choices. See?” Taeyong picks up a J-Series. Truly an eyesore. How are they not yet obsolete? “It’s only 88,000 _Won._ ”

The price is honestly laughable. Despite the urge to scoff at it, Jaehyun takes the phone and quickly scans the applications. It’s almost physically painful to do so. “Do you seriously want this? You can pick better _Galaxy_ models.”

Taeyong shakes his head, unmindful of the funny looks he’s getting from bypassing customers. “Every single one of them can do the only two functions I need to communicate with you, sir. You’re going to buy me some clothes after this, and I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“You’re not taking advantage of me.” And he’s fully aware of the lack of ill-intentions coming from Taeyong. Jaehyun is observant, has a knack for interpreting body language, and no, Taeyong is not taking advantage of him.

But if this…this revolting phone is what Taeyong wants, then Jaehyun will respect that.

They purchase the last stock of _J2 Core_ – Jaehyun lifts it up to God for _Samsung_ not to produce any more of those – and proceeds to head to the department store. Predicting that Taeyong will oppose his choice of brands again, Jaehyun lets his helper make a beeline to the budget friendly ones.

At the very least, they don’t look cheap and the material appears to be of high quality. Jaehyun can give proper credit when it’s due. He insists to get at least five shirts, two jeans and several comfortable shorts before roping Taeyong towards the shoe section.

“My shoes are still okay,” Even Taeyong himself doesn’t buy that as he wiggles his toes in the tight confinement of his footwear. “Seriously, sir. I’m not even going anywhere after this. My everyday itinerary is composed of tasks that require me to make a trip all around the mansion. Just the mansion. Remember the details you put in the contract yourself? We both signed it.”

Jaehyun can’t help the slight upturn of his mouth. They just met yesterday but they converse with so much ease as though they’ve known each other for a while. And he supposes that’s a good thing. An employer and his employee should maintain a relationship that allows them to work together efficiently. “The contract doesn’t hinder you from enjoying yourself after work, Taeyong. I gave you two off-days. Once you start getting salaries, you’d want to go out too. You can’t wear that.” Jaehyun glances at the other’s shoes. This time, he doesn’t hide the look of disapproval. “Your lifestyle changes according to your financial capability. You wear those shoes because you couldn’t afford a new one.”

Damn, his boss is making sense again. “That I understand, but let me buy it myself when I have my own money.”

“When’s your birthday?”

Oh dear. Sir Jaehyun is pulling the birthday card on him.

Taeyong frustratedly runs his fingers through his hair. He should be allowed to show his exasperation towards his boss when necessary. “July 1st.”

“That’s three weeks ago.” Jaehyun beckons a clerk to help the other try some shoes on. “Belated happy birthday, Taeyong.”

Jesus. If only he could wipe that smug expression on his boss’ face, Taeyong would’ve done it already.

They leave the department store with two bags – one for the clothes, and one for the shoes. Taeyong carries it all because that’s the least he can do. Who even makes their boss carry their stuff for them? Even if Jaehyun doesn’t treat him the way a boss should, Taeyong isn’t shameless enough to toe the line.

Jaehyun treats him to a quaint restaurant. He can’t say no to this since he’s still a little hungry. The breakfast he made was unappetizing and though he’s used to it, his stomach suddenly craves more after having a taste of that immaculate _Galbitang._ It’s not surprising that his boss owns several branches of restaurants since he’s a great cook himself.

While satisfying his hunger with a plate of traditional Korean cuisine, Taeyong learns a few more things about his employer. Jaehyun graduated College at the top of his class. He likes fluffy animals that’s why he volunteers at a shelter and donates financial as well as medical aid to it. His talent for cooking was passed down by his mother, and that his parents are now enjoying themselves in a nice house in Connecticut. Why he refuses to clean the mansion himself, Taeyong gets a nonchalant _because I’m lazy._

Perfect people do not exist. Even the most amazing ones possess distasteful traits.

The disapproving frown on Taeyong’s face after hearing that from him tickles Jaehyun’s humor. Somehow, he’s so at ease around Taeyong in a way he’s never been with other people. Being a loser when it comes to social interaction, he does and says things that make people stir out of his way – except for his employees because they cannot get rid of him. However, he can feel his awkwardness gradually dissipate. Perhaps it’s the way Taeyong easily goes along with his antics.

_Don’t get ahead of yourself. He’s working for you. He needs a roof on his head and food in his stomach. Of course he’ll bear with your peculiarity._

Jaehyun hushes the voice in his head as he sips his tea. It’s been a long time since he’s been this carefree with someone that isn’t his parents. No doubt – it’s certainly those expressive eyes casting a spell on him.

They return to the mansion right after lunch. After depositing the shopping bags in his room, Taeyong asks his boss to finally give him a house tour.

And one grand house tour he gets.

Since they’re already on the second floor, Jaehyun roams it with Taeyong first.

“The bedrooms in this wing are solely for family members and guests, while the housekeepers’ sleeping quarters are in the opposite wing. Dad wanted to put a bathroom in each guest room but mom opposed the idea.”

“So how many bathrooms are there?” Taeyong asks as they check each bedroom. True to his boss’ words, they’re in dire need of cleaning.

“Since I’m an only child, there are only two main bedrooms. I moved out and the one I’m occupying now is my parents’. There are three guest rooms and five for the housekeepers because the men and women cannot share the same space. Do the math.”

Numbers jumble in Taeyong’s head. “Five?”

“Six. The two common bathrooms at the end of the hallway are for the guests, and the housekeepers also have two. My old bedroom has one. You already used the shower in the master’s bedroom.”

Taeyong’s face contorts inexplicably as they inspect each of the bathrooms Jaehyun is rambling about. So he has to clean all six of them indefinitely…

That thought shatters when Jaehyun leads the way to the veranda. It is so wide that they can see over the other mansions nearby.

“Then there are two on the first floor, and one near the pool area at the back.”

Nine. Taeyong has to clean nine bathrooms. Should be fine. It’s not like he has to clean them all in one day.

The next place they go to is the library. Multiple books of various genre line the shelves, practically making up the walls of the library. There are three desks in the middle and in one corner of the room are art supplies.

“This is where I studied. All the books I used are here. If you’re into fiction, this library boasts a number of highly recommended ones. Ranging from fantasy, thriller, drama.” Jaehyun picks up a book and thoughtlessly flips its pages. “Just ask me if there are words you can’t understand.”

Taeyong’s heart swells as he walks around the library. Since he was a child, he knew that he couldn’t finish his education because of poverty. Math, Science, Philosophy, they were all useless if he only had to plant and harvest crops all his life. But right now, as he inhales the possibility of learning again, he thinks he’d be visiting the library frequently.

“May I read all the books I want?”

A small smile graces Jaehyun’s features before he slips the book back to its place. “Learning is a lifetime process, Taeyong. And it should be priceless. Feel free to grab as many as you want to keep you company.”

That, he’ll do. Wherever his father is, he will certainly be proud of Taeyong.

Adjoining the library is the music room. Several musical instruments recline in their respective cases. Violin, guitar, flute, and many more Taeyong cannot name. A grand piano is situated in the middle. Jaehyun retells a memory when he was practicing for a school competition and won an award for his original composition.

His employer is obviously a man of many talents. Taeyong inwardly applauds him for it. Rich children are more likely to hone their skills and they deserve it. There are gifted children in the bottom level of society but due to lack of chances, those talents remain undiscovered ‘til the last day.

The first floor of the mansion has more rooms to offer. Apart from the main dining hall, kitchen and living room he has already seen, it consists of two receiving areas where family and friends can chat over a cup of coffee – or tea, whichever they fancy, another dining hall for guests separated with a smaller kitchen, a pantry, as well as a specialty bar in the middle of the two dining areas.

Further into the first floor is a spacious entertainment room for games and movie viewing. Family and friends can play a game of billiard, dart and cards while those who are not in the mood for bets can lounge in plush leather seats before a 75-inch flatscreen TV.

At this point, Taeyong can only tie an invisible ribbon to his jaw so he can drag it around for he’s grown tired of picking it off the floor repeatedly. Goodness gracious. And Jaehyun lives here by himself? Doesn’t he get spooked? Taeyong will bet half of his half ghosts have already inhibited this astronomical house.

Just this morning when he was getting dressed, the curtain in his room swayed even when the windows are close. Taeyong got scared, of course, but considering the reason why he fled the rural village, it will take more than just a tap on the shoulder or creak of the door for his soul to leave his body.

As long as they don’t show themselves before him, it’s fine. He’ll get used to it.

Jaehyun leads the way outside. He’s seen the lawn earlier and the grasses need some serious trimming. He fears that if they don’t pay equal attention to it, this mansion will end up disappearing behind a mini jungle.

“The mower is in the storage room in the backyard.”

“Your neighbors surely mow their own lawns, sir Jaehyun. Do they not recommend that you do the same thing?”

“They come over but for unnecessary purposes.”

“Oh,” Taeyong looks over the three-car garage that only has one vehicle at the moment. “It gets lonely sometimes, doesn’t it? Do friends and relatives visit you?”

Jaehyun points towards the wilting flowers and reminds Taeyong to water them first thing in the morning before answering the helper’s question. “Two of the company celebrations were done here. My employees also insisted throwing a party for me even though they ended up ignoring me for the whole night for two reasons. One, no one will willingly spend time with someone so boring. Two, I’m a lame host.”

That rubs Taeyong the wrong way. He scoffs loudly as they head to the pool area. Leaves and dirt float on the surface of the water. “People really have two faces. One they use for those they like, and one for those they pretend to like. Some people wear masks, don’t they?”

“Some do, some don’t. Some wear an eyepatch.”

Jaehyun earns a blinding smile from his helper. At least they share the same sense of humor.

“Sir Jaehyun, would you tell me why you’re wearing an eyepatch?”

“Maybe, maybe not. It’s an insignificant part of me.”

“Every part of you makes _you,_ sir.”

Silence befalls them for a moment before Jaehyun clears his throat and unlocks the fence gate leading to the backyard garden. “And out of all the places in this mansion, this is my favorite.”

The garden is wide, probably covering the same area as the swimming pool. Like the lawn, the grasses are growing taller than they should and all the plants are in the verge of surrender. In the middle is a sorry excuse of a garden bed.

“Let me guess,” Taeyong crouches next to the garden bed and pokes the sad leaf. It’s so dry and wrinkly, torn by pests that it’s become unrecognizable. “You graduated with a degree in gardening taught by the internet. I don’t know how to use the internet but I’ve heard things about it. They say it’s full of crap.”

“In my defense, it’s full of reliable articles penned by expert gardeners, too.”

“Did you read those articles?”

With the way his boss averts his gaze and pokes the sad leaf, Taeyong interprets it as a no. How can sir Jaehyun be intimidating and…adorable at the same time? Is that even possible?

“By now, it’s safe to say that I know how lazy you are even though we just met yesterday. Will you allow me to talk bad behind your back, sir?”

“If it’s solicited.”

“Please turn around.”

Jaehyun’s shoulders slightly shake in muffled laughter as he turns his back towards Taeyong.

“You’re so full of crap, sir Jaehyun.”

“You can say shit, I won’t fire you.”

“Then you’re so full of shit. It’s overflowing. Let me grab a bucket and catch them for you, okay?”

If he was any other employer, Taeyong’s ass would be a thousand miles away from him now. But he’s not any of those employers, and he’s as strange as they say, so Jaehyun feels no ounce of infuriation even as Taeyong rolls his eyes at him.

Taeyong puts an end to his boss’ embarrassment with a promise to do his best in resurrecting the garden. Recalling the mountains of task he needs to do around the mansion, Taeyong emits a sigh. This is infinitely better than being stuck in that rural village forever.

Hopefully, as he settles into his new life, he’ll forget about the horror he managed to escape, and the reality of it that still clings to him no matter how far he runs, regardless of where he hides.

A week has passed since Taeyong began working and staying in the mansion. Within those days he learned to cook some of the easiest recipes Jaehyun prepared for him using the modern kitchen appliances. It wasn’t hard to remember which buttons to press, what the numbers mean and which tool to use because Jaehyun was a very patient teacher. In the morning, Jaehyun woke up early to guide him around the kitchen. Not wanting to commit a single mistake, Taeyong did his best to remember every little detail and would only glance at the printed recipes glued to the fridge when he had to double check to ensure he did the right thing.

Because of the size of the mansion, Taeyong only got to finish sweeping and mopping each of the rooms on the second floor. He has also changed the bedsheets and pillowcases. The next thing he’ll do is replace the curtains, before doing the laundry.

And boy does his laundry look like it’s going to take up days to wash. The first floor of the mansion has to wait for when he can start cleaning it, because he still got bathrooms to scrub, shelves of books to wipe and entertainment room to organize on the second floor. Plus, the veranda’s floor requires some thorough rinsing.

Jaehyun offers to help him when he’s at home but Taeyong assures his boss he can do it on his own just fine, and that if the latter insists, he can lend a hand when it’s time to fix the garden.

Today’s check list consists of mowing the lawn and removing all the dirt in the pool. He should finish it before Jaehyun comes home from visiting the animal shelter so that his employer will be proud of him. Thinking of it, he hasn’t really completed anything yet since there’s still so much to do on the second floor.

His limbs are about to fall off from exhaustion but it’s okay. At night he gets to rest like never before as he lies down the soft bed with a book for kids as a starter to brush up on his reading skills and vocabulary. Baby steps. He’ll get to Jaehyun’s level one day. Whenever he finishes a page, the feeling of accomplishment takes away the soreness of his body.

Taeyong saunters to where the gardening tools are kept. Upon getting there though, he realizes he doesn’t know how to use the lawn mower. Luckily, he finds a grass cutter among the clutter of tools so he immediately brings it to the front yard to start trimming the grasses.

Crouching down, Taeyong endures the heat of the sun. It beats down on him ruthlessly as he snips continuously, beads of sweat trickling down his face. He pauses for a moment to wipe them away with the towel hanging on his shoulders, and rolls his sleeves up to let his arms breathe before resuming his work.

He’s been going at it for almost an hour, only getting to cut a tiny portion of the front yard when he notices two women lingering just outside the gates. They seem to be watching him as they whisper to each other. Curiosity gets to Taeyong – they might be important people – so he stops to approach them.

Opening the small gate, Taeyong greets the women. At a closer look they must be in their 60s, dressed in obviously branded clothes. “Are you here for sir Jaehyun?” His boss didn’t send him another message following the first one saying he’ll be at the shelter the whole day, to notify him of visitors.

“Oh no! We’re his neighbors, though. We were just taking a walk and noticed you,” One of them says with a kind tone. She’s adorned with jewelries that glint under the sun when her umbrella tilts to the side. “At first, we thought it was Mr. Jeong cutting the grass, then we remembered he wouldn’t do that! I mean,” they share a rather loud cackle, “we’ve never seen him take care of the house before. Why would he do it now?”

That doesn’t sit right with him, but Taeyong chooses to ignore the jab as he puts the grass cutter down next to his feet, smiling at them politely. “Is that so? I’m his helper. Sir Jaehyun hired me last week. He’s out right now, though. If you wish to see him?”

His gut says they surely don’t and the confirmation comes in the form of a slight frown on their faces.

“We just said we were only taking a walk, young man. Anyway, isn’t that strange? We barely know him but I wonder what made that man change his mind? We’ve been in this neighborhood just as long but we never saw a helper. Not after the previous ones disappeared so suddenly.” The one whose face is caked with uneven makeup says with an attitude reminiscent of the gossip mongers back where Taeyong came from. Before Taeyong can react though, a gasp tears through the woman as they share a meaningful look.

Their fearful eyes travel from his head down to his toe. “Did you apply knowing the rumors circling around?” The first one questions. “Golly, you poor thing. Imagine if you didn’t have any idea and you’re willingly working here. If we don’t see you again next week, or next month, that will just nail the truth to those rumors.”

The pulsating in his temple is a telltale sign of headache. Such a hassle, but solicited given the character of these people before him. It was a mistake approaching them, but too late to undo. Taeyong pinches his nose bridge, shutting his eyes for a second before looking at them with an inaudible huff. “With all due respect, ma’ams, what rumors are you talking about?”

In some way he knows they’re bullshit but he’s only a curious man.

“People say so many things! That he runs a gang and manages underground businesses involving human trafficking. Take note of the eyepatch. Don’t criminals in the movies wear that?” How typical of baby boomers to derive conclusions from fictional shows. “My goodness,” Cake-face woman dramatically fans herself. “Watch out for yourself, will you? If he takes you somewhere, make an alibi and get out of the car. If you are put in the trunk, kick the headlights and scream for help. Say fire! That will get the people looking.”

“…Is that all?” Taeyong squints under the glaring sunlight after glancing towards the garage. “Sir Jaehyun is indeed intimidating at first but he’s nice. He bought me some clothes and even took care of me when I got sick. Made me _Galbitang –_ ”

Another dramatic gasp, followed by panic chatter.

“Um, excuse me–”

The ostentatious woman cuts him off. “You careless, unsuspecting thing! How naïve can you get? If the rumors are true, he probably already poisoned you and in the intravenous toxins are just moving slowly but very surely through your bloodstream. What a painful way to die. Give it another day. If you start to feel nauseous, that’s the murder taking place!”

“Have you seen him perform these unspeakable crimes you are saying?”

Taeyong can’t believe he’s having this conversation.

“No, not yet! But the aura he emits is enough for us to be cautious! This generation’s morals have gone down the drain, young man. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they were true. It’s better to think ahead than realize you should’ve been careful when it’s already too late.”

For a while, he watches them be superficially concerned with him until it grates on his nerves, and Taeyong picks up the grass cutter again. He purposely snips the cutter and the sound it makes interrupts their pretentious rambling.

“The respect I have for you earlier, madams, remain as I speak to you now after hearing those accusations,” he begins calmly, looking them in the eyes, “Without grounds I will not heed your advice. I will believe it when I see it. But worry not, I’ll watch my back all the time. Wherever I am, whoever I am with – even around you.”

Shock paints itself on their faces.

“Sir Jaehyun took me in even though I’m a stranger and offered me a job to help me get back up. Do you live in the mansions nearby? I was the one who asked for help last week but was shunned without being heard. I found help in this eerie-looking mansion owned by a ‘suspicious’ man. Who’s to say you’re better than him, when you rely on self-made narratives to assassinate somebody’s character and uplift your own reputation? The depth of my knowledge regarding his background is shallow but considerably deeper than what I know about yours. Although this conversation is very telling.”

Suffice to say, the infuriation they feel is staggering.

“How disrespectful! We were only concerned about you! Tch, seems like you two are the same!”

“I can’t confirm anything, ma’am. As a part of the poor society, my words may mean nothing to you but please hear me out because it won’t cost you a penny to listen.” Taeyong props an arm against the gate, staring right through them. “You might want to watch who you are demonizing without proof. They might turn out to be harmless while those in sheep’s skin are the wolves planning to hurt you. How sure are you that I should be the one to watch my back, and not sir Jaehyun? Lots of these murderers are the people you least expect.”

Panic rattles them at the implication of his words. Taeyong takes a step back with a smile. “Have a nice day, madams. I sure hope for a better character development for you.” He closes the gates and dismisses the string of insults hurled at him as he resumes his task of cutting grasses.

Drowning out their voices, Taeyong ponders whether or not he just made things worse for his boss by talking back to those malicious neighbors of his. No doubt they will add more fuel to it and drag Taeyong to the story. He supposes he shouldn’t care if they do. As long as he’s innocent, there’s nothing to be scared of.

_As long as you’re innocent, there’s nothing to be scared of. But why did you run away?_

Taeyong angrily snips the grasses. He didn’t run away because he’s guilty. He ran away because he fears for his life.

Something moves flittingly in his periphery. Taeyong looks at the window and the swaying curtain. He swears there was _something_ there, a distorted smokey figure.

His eyes must be tricking him. Besides, his head is already pounding thanks to the heat and the stupidity of those boomers.

Well, whatever it is, it better not appear before him.

The pups huddle around Jaehyun as soon as he comes back with the container of dog food. “Calm down. Everyone’s going to eat…” But the excited dogs can’t understand him. They bark and wag their tails as he fills their bowls, quickly digging in before he finishes pouring the others’ shares.

His first task in the animal shelter for today was help clean their cages. Having done this for a long time, the smell doesn’t bother Jaehyun anymore. It took him and Taka, one of the full-time caretakers, three hours cleaning cages of all the animals there. Would’ve been done faster if there were more volunteers but it seems like even the caretakers, sans Taka, unanimously decided to file a leave. If Jaehyun was the manager, he wouldn’t allow them all to take a break at once. But Mrs. Han is too nice for her own good, so it’s only him, Taka, and the elderly woman supervising the shelter for today.

Mrs. Han sits on the bench behind Jaehyun as he watches over the dogs. The other pets have had their lunch earlier as they can’t afford to let them all out at the same time. One of the shelter’s rules is to release the pets when it’s time for meals, because they believe it’s therapeutic for the lovable creatures to eat with their friends without being locked in their cages.

It will be a little messy but it’s fine. Jaehyun doesn’t mind cleaning after these adorable pups.

“How’s the fogging, by the way?” He asks the elderly woman without looking away from the naughty dog next to him, caressing its back.

The question makes Mrs. Han grumble. “It was a hassle as usual. Had to evacuate the animals to a gymnasium. The fogging took longer this time because Lily had ticks and we wanted to make sure the others wouldn’t get it too. We sent her to the vet yesterday and the doctor insisted she stay there for further examination. We’re worried about these pups so we’re constantly observing them.”

“Are there still enough medicines?” Should he donate more? Every week, an abandoned or abused pet is left in the shelter and a lot of them needs to be given medical attention.

“Yes, there’s still a lot left. Taka updates the record every time it’s used,” she pauses as she cranes her neck to look inside the office, finding the caretaker busy chatting on the telephone again. “Taka!” Her voice startles the man. Even Jaehyun has to pick his ear. “What are you doing?! Go to the vet and check on Lily!”

Taka shouts back, pressing the telephone to his chest so their voices won’t get picked up. “Can’t we just call the clinic?!”

“How are we going to call them if you wouldn’t stop hogging the phone? Make yourself useful! The clinic is only fifteen minutes away.” Mrs. Han mumbles more under her breath as Taka scrambles to grab his stuff.

Jaehyun blinks a few times as the other man zooms past them and out of the shelter in no time. “Every time I’m here, he’s always on the phone. Is it a part of the job or is he just avoiding me?”

He receives an incredulous look.

“Why would Taka avoid you? Didn’t you clean the cages earlier?”

Touché. But maybe Taka decided not to avoid him today so it wouldn’t be too obvious that he was actually trying to stir out of his way.

His thought must’ve shown on his face for Mrs. Han pokes the back of his head before picking up one of the pitchers on the side to pour water in a big bowl in case the dogs get thirsty.

“Silly man. He’s always on the phone during this time of the day because it’s his boyfriend’s break from work.”

Huh. How come he never knew that about the caretaker when he’s been volunteering here for years? Not like he wants to be on the loop with everyone’s business. Jaehyun is a private person.

“Taka is seeing someone?” Jaehyun asks thoughtlessly as he leaves the dogs to sit next to the manager.

Mrs. Han snorts. “Of course, he is. Why don’t you talk to him? Be friends! It won’t hurt you. You’re getting older, Jaehyun.” Her eyes soften, and she dusts off her hand before patting Jaehyun’s shoulder casually. She still remembers the day Jaehyun signed up as a volunteer. He had a hard time approaching the staff for help but looking at him now, she can say he’s gotten a lot comfortable and at ease around people. “Taka is a social butterfly. Bet he’s just intimidated since I heard him talking to the others last time about wanting to eat with you.”

“He did?” Jaehyun can’t believe it. Genuinely.

“Would I lie?” Her eyes roll so hard to accentuate her point. Sometimes, Mrs. Han doesn’t act like her age and it somewhat makes her look younger. But even though her actions seem as though they were prompted by vexation, the truth is she understands where Jaehyun is coming from. Some people just find social interaction more difficult than anything else. “Hang out with him during break. Taka knows a lot of people and he will find you a good partner.”

That makes Jaehyun’s brow raise. Nonetheless, a soft chuckle escapes him as he looks back at the frantic dogs. “I don’t need one,” – Confusion pelts him when Taeyong’s face suddenly appears in his mind – “But how certain are you he’d find me a good partner?”

Here they are again. Like typical mothers, Mrs. Han likes breaching the subject of romance with him thinking he needs it to spice up his monotonous life. And again, Jaehyun will dismiss her because he’s certain that romance is unnecessary.

Taeyong’s face momentarily flashes in his head again.

“His boyfriend came over a few times. They match very well! You know me. I’m like a mother to all the volunteers here so I get into some of my pseudo-children’s business, including their love life.”

See?

“And you approve of Taka’s partner.”

“I sure do.” She shrugs proudly. For a short moment, silence stretches between them with only the dogs’ eating noises filling the open space of the shelter. “I’m glad you came here today, Jaehyun. We always appreciate the extra help. How’s work?”

“Fine.”

“That’s all?”

Well, what else is there to say? His life is uneventful like she already knows. His own employees, sans Taeyong, don’t get along with him very much. Sometimes he asks himself why he’s still managing them.

Mrs. Han’s smile leaves crow’s feet on the outer corners of her eyes. “You were a man of few words. It was hard to break the walls around you, but I’m glad you open up to me when necessary. You’re a good person, Jaehyun.” She twists a little to her right to look at him properly. “I noticed something different about you when you arrived this morning. You look well-rested.”

Jaehyun’s head tilts curiously. “Really? Hm, I slept early. Had nice breakfast. Not eggs and toast, Mrs. Han. I had kimchi fried rice.” Upon noticing her inquisitive gaze, he continues. Unaware of the way his gaze brightens uncharacteristically, intriguing the perceptive elderly woman. “I hired a helper and he’s been working for me for a week. He was a farmer in the countryside. Would you believe if I say that on the first day, he cooked eggs and rice in the fire place?”

His soft laughter surprises Mrs. Han.

“He’s hardworking. The mansion is huge and he has only cleaned a part of it but I told him he doesn’t have to rush.”

“Hm. It’s a good thing someone is there with you.” She means more than that but he doesn’t pick it up. “I can’t imagine living in a gigantic house by myself.”

“Let’s switch places then.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Mrs. Han good-naturedly jokes before filling another bowl with water since more dogs are finishing their food. “Are you going to stay until later?”

“Yes. I still want to play with the bunnies.”

The bunnies! God, those tiny fluffballs! They are Jaehyun’s most favorite animals ever for their small size, cutesy cotton ball tails and flappy ears. And when their noses vibrate when eating? It hurts Jaehyun in a way he sheds tears secretly when nobody’s looking.

Memory of Taeyong chewing on the sunny side up egg like a rabbit haunts him, and like what happened that time, his heart skips a beat. Jaehyun begins to feel a little scared of the subtle implications.

“Very well,” Mrs. Han stands up and wipes her hands down her pants. “Reward your helper with some take-away.”

“Is that necessary?”

“Why not? If I were you, I’d do that. Reward my helpers with some good fast food once in a while. You’re a restaurateur, I know, but sometimes greasy food is the best. Don’t you agree?” She appears genuinely concerned but in actuality, she just wants to see how this will play out in the future. Hopefully, in her favor.

She’s sick of always hearing about Taka’s love stories. Perhaps it is time to listen to Jaehyun’s soon.

Jaehyun picks up the empty bowls and leads some of the dogs back to their cages, thinking of Mrs. Han’s suggestion.

Jaehyun returns home at 6, immediately calling for Taeyong as he enters the mansion carrying the bag of fast food take-away. Yet even after the helper’s name rings for the fourth time in the empty house, nobody answers to him.

He’s just entered the hall leading to the dining area when he gets the shock of his life through Taeyong popping out from behind the wall, snipping the grass cutter dangerously close to his face.

“What are you doing?” Jaehyun breathes out with a glare he can’t contain. What made Taeyong think that was okay? The other man isn’t even fazed by the steaming irritation.

“What will you do if I were a serial killer?”

The restaurateur’s gaze turns blank as he plucks the grass cutter out of Taeyong’s hold and carelessly tosses it to the ground. It hits the floor with a resounding clatter. “Kill you before you could think of killing me.” He then casually walks past the stunned helper to place the bag of food on the dining table. “What prompted this?”

His boss’ tone is so icy it almost paralyzes him on the spot. He must admit that it was a foolish thing to do. What if he shoved too close and hurt Jaehyun? Riddled with guilt and disappointment at himself for acting so petulantly, Taeyong warily follows and flinches when the chair scrapes loudly against the floor as Jaehyun pulls it back to sit down.

Taeyong second guesses if it’s alright to get close and answer the question truthfully. Despite the worry, he stands next to Jaehyun and grips the backrest of the vacant seat, pursing his lips in uncertainty. “The neighbors said some things but I don’t believe them, sir. I was just being…playful. But I apologize. I went over the top. I shouldn’t have done it.”

“You don’t believe them.” A parroted statement meant to sound sarcastic. Even though there’s only one visible eye to give Taeyong a daunting gaze, it still manages to intimidate him. “What if they were telling the truth?” Jaehyun didn’t need to ask to know the kind of lies they fed Taeyong. He should still be upset with the other but hearing that Taeyong isn’t one to be easily influenced, it somehow appeases him.

Truth be told, Taeyong already considered that possibility while cleaning the pool earlier but like he said, he will believe it when he sees it.

“I sort of told them the same thing, in the sense that what if they were telling the truth, but the criminal is me and not you? Because they were telling me to be careful.” He pulls the chair and occupies it without asking for permission, clasped hands on the table. “To be honest, sir, if they were using their brains, it’s common sense for everyone to be wary of each other no matter how trustworthy they are. Leave a little space in your head for doubts so that when they break your trust, it wouldn’t disappoint you too much. At least that’s what I believe in.”

“So you’re doubting me?”

“I’m saying that looks can be deceiving and they should be wary of me too, if they want to view anybody negatively. That way, they wouldn’t think of themselves as fools for extending their pretentious concern.” Taeyong mentally rejoices when Jaehyun’s daunting gaze dissipates. “You can never be too sure, right? Who knows, they might be projecting on you. But still, I’m sorry.”

Jaehyun keeps his gaze on the food he’s yet to take out the plastic bag. “You’re forgiven.”

A thousand-watt smile appears on Taeyong’s face. Too bad, his boss can’t see it. “Are you hungry? It’s only 6 but you shouldn’t starve, sir.” He moves to get up, only for a warm hand to wrap around his wrist and keep him in place.

“I bought fast food. Should’ve texted you but it slipped my mind. What did you cook? Let’s just eat it tomorrow.” The puzzling organ in his chest drums unexplainably wild, and Jaehyun let’s go of Taeyong when he realizes he’s been holding it.

“I cooked the recipe you left for today.” Second pass and Taeyong’s wrist still burns. Suddenly he feels nervous in a way he can’t understand, but it’s definitely not the bad kind. In fact, he…likes it. “Is that good?” He asks, pertaining to the food.

Jaehyun nods and starts taking out the boxes. He got them spaghetti and burger each. “Not very healthy, though. However, cheat days exist for a reason. They’re when you don’t have to watch your diet strictly.”

There’s an almost tangible glimmer in Taeyong’s eyes as he opens his share and picks up the fork. “But I’ve been dieting my whole, sir.”

“That’s why you deserve this.” His previous annoyance is completely gone. Jaehyun gestures for the other to start eating as he lazily mixes the pasta with its sauce. “I had fun at the shelter. You should come with me next time. Being around pets is cathartic.”

“Sure. Weekends?” Taeyong says thoughtlessly as he shovels a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth. The taste almost brings him to tears. He’ll never taste something as good as this if he stayed in the rural village!

The sight tugs Jaehyun’s lips to a tiny smile. “When I’m available. My schedule is chaotic. I’ll take you there and we can play with the pets.”

“That sounds like a date.”

Completely taken aback, Jaehyun stares at the side profile of his helper who’s too busy with his early dinner. He replays it over and over in his head, trying to see if it’s going to offend him. It doesn’t. As a matter of fact, Jaehyun welcomes the thought.

The implications of it hits him tenfold as compared to earlier, when he kept thinking of Taeyong during the conversation with Mrs. Han. He should find a proper explanation to it, right? Maybe next time.

For now, he can say without a hitch that his helper is one attractive man. Nothing wrong with being honest.

Jaehyun chews on the food slowly, stealing glances at an oblivious Taeyong occasionally. “Don’t snip the cutter at me again.”

“Mhm,” Taeyong hums without even registering what his boss said as he eagerly opens the box of burger.

“I see you cut some of the grasses. Why didn’t you use the mower?”

“Don’t know how to use it.” Taeyong should be embarrassed he’s stuffing himself as though he hasn’t eaten in years, but could anyone blame him?

Oh. Jaehyun should’ve taught him first before leaving. He takes a mental note to do just that tomorrow. “And Taeyong?” The helper looks at him, chewing like a bunny yet again. Resisting the urge to lean in and do something he might or might not regret requires a lot of effort. “Please stop calling me sir. Just Jaehyun would be fine. I’m serious. Don’t look at me like that.”

Does he want to question his employer’s decisions right now? Probably not. Although his boss proceeds to explain anyway.

“I don’t have much friends.” Mrs. Han’s words echo faintly, but it’s not entirely why Jaehyun wants the other man to call him just by his name. “Friends don’t address each other with titles.”

“For the record, I don’t have one. And since that seems to be a decision that can’t be dissuaded, I suppose it’s only fair.” Taeyong bites down his burger and moans appreciatively at the taste, oblivious of its effect to an internally struggling Jaehyun. “Thank you for the dinner, Jaehyun.”

Not only the owner of that name feels warm all over, but the one who said it as well. Both of them are not in a hurry to decode its meaning and it will be nice to just let things click into place naturally.

Things are going quite well for Taeyong in the mansion. He finishes cleaning the second floor after another week, and the first floor has been taking up the following days after that. For all intents and purposes, the second floor would’ve taken a little longer to be squeaky clean if not for Jaehyun’s insistence to help when he’s got nothing to do. Thanks to the sudden disappearance of his laziness that can be attributed to his unspoken desire of being around Taeyong as much as possible, they are now focusing on restructuring the pitiful vegetable garden in the backyard.

Prior to this day, Jaehyun already bought lumbers and some seeds to be planted so that all there is left to do is to make raised garden beds for different vegetables.

Jaehyun puts a hand over his eyes as he glimpses the high sun. “Are you sure you don’t need me to put an umbrella? I got the patio umbrellas near the pool removed since nobody’s swimming anyway, but I can get it in the storage room for you.” He watches his helper continue to install the lumbers around the third raised bed. “Won’t you get heat stroke like that?”

Sleeves rolled up his shoulders, Taeyong’s damp arms glisten as he hammers a nail to connect two lumbers. “I’m fine. We don’t use umbrellas in the farm.” He says without looking at his boss and wipes away the bead of sweat between his creased brows before grabbing another piece of wood.

Soil stick to his skin and shorts, but Taeyong doesn’t mind. Mud used to cover him as a farmer. It would take a lot more dirt to make him feel icky.

Standing there uselessly won’t make Jaehyun feel better especially when he has to watch Taeyong do everything while he waits for his turn to plant the seeds. He had presented to make the other beds but his helper refused it, practically shooing Jaehyun to the side with little bags of seeds in hand.

Fine. If Taeyong doesn’t want him to be hammering lumbers, he’ll just prepare snacks so Taeyong can eat while he buries the seeds later.

Leaving the backyard, Jaehyun heads to the kitchen and starts making fruit juice. When he’s got a whole pitcher of ice-cold apple drink, he then prepares a couple of sandwiches and puts them on a plate.

“Is this enough?” Jaehyun shrugs before pouring the juice into a tall glass, and brings them with him to the backyard.

What he’s planning to do there is ask Taeyong to take a break and eat. What Jaehyun does is pathetically trip over a finished garden bed, face planted on the soil, with the food now messily scattered on the ground.

Such extreme humiliation he’s currently suffering from, all because Taeyong decided it’s too hot and the perfect way to deal with it is to take his shirt off and flaunt his built torso.

His helper panics, while Jaehyun wishes to remain faceplanting so that he won’t have to see a half-naked Taeyong again. Let him be. Leave him alone with his embarrassing thoughts and feelings.

“Jaehyun! Are you okay? Oh Lord, are you dead?” Taeyong shakes his employer’s arm, briefly glancing at the poor sandwiches on the garden bed. What the hell. They were supposed to plant seeds, not breads!

His boss finally sits up, silent and expressionless as he swipes fingers over his soil-covered face. “Jaehyun…?” Taeyong asks cautiously before picking up the fallen sandwiches, as well as the now empty glass. Good thing it didn’t shatter.

Jaehyun keeps his gaze over Taeyong’s shoulder, not looking anywhere else. Even if he badly wants to drink in the sight of Taeyong’s sweaty, bare chest. “I’m fine. I just didn’t see the lumber.” He receives a look that questions his sanity. It’s cool! Jaehyun knows for himself that that was one lame excuse.

“For real? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No, I’m okay.” Getting on his feet, he bends a little bit to brush the soil off his pants, before looking up in reflex when Taeyong helps in patting away the soil. Traitorous eyes land on his helper’s dark nipples.

_God, take me now._

A furious blush coats Taeyong’s cheeks as soon as he realizes where his boss is looking at. Clearing his throat, Taeyong straightens and shoves the sandwiches and empty glass to Jaehyun. That takes the other’s eyes off of his chest. “What are these for?”

“For you to eat since I feel bad not being able to help.” At least Jaehyun’s voice is still stable despite the chaos in his head and chest that are now slowly travelling southward.

Taeyong rubs the heat off his cheek before waving Jaehyun dismissively. “It’s not like you won’t do anything. You’re going to plant the seeds when I’m done.” Glancing at Jaehyun’s dirty eyepatch, a sigh leaves Taeyong before he reaches out to swipe the soil away, not noticing the slight flinch. “Please shower and get changed instead. I’ll be done caging the last bed. Then after you plant the seeds, we can eat sandwiches together.” He bites his lower lip and darts his gaze elsewhere, shyly rubbing his nape. _That sounds like an invitation of some sort._ “Isn’t it better to eat with someone?”

Eating together with Taeyong is slowly climbing up Jaehyun’s favorite hobbies. Right. Jaehyun wants that too. Softly laughing, Jaehyun tells the other to get back to work and hurries inside the mansion again. This time, to shower and scrub away his embarrassment as well as the vivid images of Taeyong’s bare skin, so tan and irresistible.

Fuck. Jaehyun is really attracted to him, isn’t he? He’s never felt such a strong emotion for anyone before, and while this partially scares him, Jaehyun also wants to give in to the urge and find out what intimacy feels and _tastes_ like.

He should’ve seen it coming – the effect of those beautiful eyes over him, the mental tug-o-war he’ll be playing because as much as he wants to touch and look and _do more,_ he’s not sure if it’ll be welcomed. Is it really possible to like someone this soon?

_There’s no right time in falling for someone, Jaehyun. The attraction is there when it’s there, and it’s real. There’s no timeline to follow when it comes to that. You think no one’s going to come into your life and change your mind, but when they appear, they’ll leave a deep impression on you that you won’t be able to let go. Come what may, you will end up caring about that person and not even your own beliefs can make you feel otherwise._

His father’s advice from years ago comes back to haunt him. Jaehyun remembers that day, and remembers telling his father it will never happen. No one’s going to like him and he will like no one.

But alas! Time and time again, karma proves to be real.

Laundry days will never be over, Taeyong swears to all the deities up there witnessing his struggle to wash the never-ending pieces of fabric. He doesn’t even have plenty clothes but the sheets, pillowcases, rugs and curtains make up for the small count of people living in this gigantic house.

And because the two washing machines are already filled to the brim, the helper decides to take matters into his own hands.

Quite literally. Handwashing clothes is the way to go for the poor since they can’t afford appliances and Taeyong can guarantee that scrubbing clothes over a piece of board and stomping on them is more effective than just letting them rotate in the washing machine.

He has just dumped a load of freshly scrubbed pillowcases in the second huge durable basin when Jaehyun enters the yard, looking like he just woke up. Which is expected since it’s only 8 in the morning.

“What are you doing…?” Jaehyun groggily asks, rubbing sleep out of his exposed eye.

Taeyong greets his boss before proceeding to explain the situation, gouging Jaehyun’s reaction while stomping on the pillowcases. Rich people won’t approve of this, will they? What to do though, Taeyong’s already crushing the fabrics with his weight.

“Don’t worry, I washed my feet.”

“I’m not even thinking about that.”

“Then why are you staring at them?”

“Is that effective?”

“Tried and tested. This is how we wash our clothes.”

Jaehyun blinks a few times, murmuring something indecipherable under his breath as he goes back inside.

What was that? Did Jaehyun get mad or something? He just left without saying anything – nothing clear, at least.

Taeyong shrugs it off and continues stomping on the pillowcases. It’s definitely working since the water’s already discoloring.

He startles when a basin filled with water is dropped next to the one he’s in. Jaehyun, who appears to have washed his face already, rolls up his sweatpants before gesturing Taeyong to pass him the other freshly scrubbed pillowcases.

“Jaehyun?” Taeyong watches in disbelief as his boss begins soaking the pillowcases and squeezing the dirt out with his feet. “Don’t you have to visit the restaurants today?” His boss’ schedule is a mess but Taeyong swears the other told him that he’d be out today to observe two of the newly hired staff.

So what is going on in Jaehyun’s head right now? Really, doing the laundry with him?

Taeyong shakes his head. He shouldn’t question Jaehyun’s behavior anymore. The man has been odd since day one, when he cooked for a sick Taeyong, who was a stranger then, and even let him sleep in the master’s bedroom.

He feels eyes boring holes onto the side of his face but Taeyong keeps his gaze on his own feet.

“Sick of managing the restaurants,” Jaehyun says through a yawn and stomps harder on the pillowcases making the water spill out of the basin. “This is my first time doing the laundry this way.”

“Are you enjoying it so far?”

Something fleets across Jaehyun’s eyes and Taeyong swears he sees a sparkle before it was gone.

Jaehyun proves he’s having fun with it when he fishes out his phone to record what he’s doing. “Mom will probably make fun of me knowing how lazy I am. Should I put music over it? Stickers?”

“How do you do that?”

“Not sure if you can do it on your phone, but do you wanna try?”

Taeyong pats his pockets for the gadget and frowns as he opens the camera. Actually, he’s never used other applications since he got the phone. If they’re not for texting or calling, there’s no use opening them.

His obvious confusion prompts Jaehyun to offer teaching him. In his surprise, the other man steps inside his basin.

Thoughtlessly pressed up behind Taeyong, Jaehyun’s hands cover his helper’s as he teaches Taeyong how to record with his camera. From an outsider’s point of view, he seems to be hugging Taeyong from behind but it doesn’t register to him.

To Taeyong, yes it does, and he prays that Jaehyun doesn’t feel the rapid beating of his heart.

“You can stop recording whenever you want, then check your file in the folder. Let’s see…”

The deep rumble of Jaehyun’s morning voice does things to poor Taeyong. There’s something about it that gives him thoughts that are borderline salacious. Jaehyun’s body heat seeps into Taeyong’s back and he can’t help but lean into the warmth, hoping that his boss won’t notice.

“Ah, you don’t have that feature. I told you, you should’ve gotten the latest model.”

His ears burn as Jaehyun clicks his tongue in disappointment. Their heights don’t differ that much so every puff of hot breath fans Taeyong’s earlobe.

Taeyong’s hands mildly tremble when he lowers his phone and yet, Jaehyun’s hold doesn’t waver. His boss’ arms cage him without plans of letting go. “Um, I don’t really see the need to…?”

The tension in the air is so thick they can cut it with a knife.

“The money will go to waste if you don’t utilize the features as you should, Taeyong.”

Holy guacamole. Taeyong didn’t know his own name would sound so sensual. Is it just him or is Jaehyun doing it on purpose?

_Would there be a reason for him to?_

“T-then what should I do…?”

Jaehyun glances at Taeyong’s flaming red ear and smiles to himself before pulling up the other’s camera, his hands still grasping Taeyong’s. “Take a picture of yourself then.” His words are almost a whisper. Angling the phone to better capture them. “See how good looking you are?”

Breathing gone shallow, Taeyong looks at the two pictures of them together. At first glance they both appear to be wearing poker faces, but as Taeyong brings the phone closer to his face, he spots the devil in the details.

It’s miniscule but there’s an evident ghost of a smirk playing on Jaehyun’s lips.

No, he’s not imagining it – Jaehyun is deliberately teasing him. The devil is luring him to the temptation of committing pleasurable sins.

Before he could pop the question – _are you teasing me?_ – the heat disappears from behind him and Taeyong turns just in time to see Jaehyun move back to his basin, resuming the task like nothing happened. Taeyong stares but Jaehyun doesn’t look at him, apparently pretending he doesn’t exist.

He shakily pockets his phone and steps out of the basin to rinse and wring the pillowcases. The way Jaehyun is playfully ignoring him seems to Taeyong that he can’t simply ask what his boss is trying to convey with his previous actions. Not yet.

Taeyong helps Jaehyun set their dinner by spreading the cloth over the grassy ground in the backyard and pouring juice into the tall glasses, while the latter carefully puts down the plates of fried chicken. Ever since Jaehyun tripped over the raised garden bed, he’s been extra careful when he’s got food in his hands.

“It’s a little chilly tonight, huh.”

“That’s why I thought it would be nice to have dinner outside.” Sitting in a lotus position, Jaehyun balances the plate on his thigh. “The plants are cool and soothing to the eyes, too. Won’t the soil get soaked too much if we water it thrice a day?”

He’s yet to forget the laundry incident a few days ago so whenever they’re this close, Taeyong can’t help but be overly conscious of everything Jaehyun does and says, interpreting the meaning behind them. Like tonight – it’s Jaehyun’s idea to have their dinner in the garden because _there are so many stars out in the sky and the flowers are so beautiful – all thanks to you, Taeyong. You took care of them well._

In Taeyong’s head, that sounds like Jaehyun asking him out.

Or perhaps he’s gone mad and he’s merely reading too much into things.

Ouch. The possibility that none of this means _anything_ to Jaehyun leaves a bitter tang in his mouth. Taeyong stifles a sigh. “It’s still summer and it isn’t raining nowadays. The scorching heat will dry the soil quicker. Don’t worry,” he takes a bite of the juicy chicken meat, “we’re moderating the amount of water to be absorbed anyway.” A squint is sent to Jaehyun’s way. “Unlike what you’d been doing. Really, pouring a bucket? That’s why they wouldn’t grow. You were drowning them.”

Jaehyun gets defensive. “Because there’s so much soil around. Even those without seeds will take the water.”

“That’s what the raised beds are for. So you can focus on where the plants are, avoid contaminants underground, and cover them easier to keep pests away. If you want to watch over it yourself, remember to only apply fertilizer every three to four weeks. Don’t stop when the plants start bearing.”

To make it easier for his boss, Taeyong put labels on each garden bed stating the vegetable names. Looking at them brings an excited smile to his face. “You’re gonna harvest a lot! Pepper, tomato, summer squash and cucumbers. Jaehyun, your garden is on a roll this year. Can you imagine doing this without me?”

Jaehyun eats slowly, occasionally glancing at his helper. He likes it best when Taeyong’s genuinely happy about the littlest things. It’s so pure and innocent. “Let’s make another raised bed there,” he points towards the empty space with his lips, “I’ll buy corn seeds.”

“Do it yourself.”

The quizzical expression on Taeyong’s face tugs the corners of Jaehyun’s mouth upwards. “Won’t you help me? You’re my helper.” He finishes the chicken leg and instantly starts on another.

“Touché, but you won’t know whether you learned something if you don’t apply it on your own.”

Silence befalls them for a while as they eat, breathing in the mixed scent of healthy garden soil and flowers that Taeyong managed to revive.

The restaurateur smacks his lips and sucks the grease off his fingers. “Wonderful evening, isn’t it? Even when my parents were still here and relatives used to come over for insignificant gatherings, we never ate under the stars. They’re better than grand chandeliers. Not too bright.”

He may claim that, but Jaehyun likes any kind of light that is caught by Taeyong’s huge black eyes.

Taeyong momentarily admires the specks of shimmering dust. “May I ask you a question?” He proceeds after Jaehyun’s prompting hum, “Why do you always close the curtains in your room?” It’s a question that’s been hanging over his head ever since, much like why Jaehyun wears an eyepatch – which could simply mean he has an eye problem, so Taeyong doesn’t think of it too much.

Still, he wishes to know everything about this man.

Jaehyun gulps half of his juice. “Personally, it’s more comfortable when it’s dim.”

“I guess it’s different for everyone.” Taeyong gently swirls his juice, the faint sound of clinking ice accompanying them. “Perhaps, are you into bizarre items?” The question only springs up because he remembers the faux animal heads on the walls. “Why would anyone want to put frightening stag and wolf and deer heads in their house?”

“Got it from my father, I suppose? He’s into occult, supernatural things and took it upon himself to incorporate it with the mansion’s theme. Actually, the stag head wasn’t in that room before. I just transferred it there.” A soft chuckle escapes Jaehyun as he nudges Taeyong’s knee. “That’s another fact about me. A food enthusiast, animal lover, fan of the supernatural.”

 _Fan of the supernatural?_ Taeyong’s head tilts as he faces Jaehyun. “Really? Any specific detail you like most about each fact?”

“Aren’t we asking basic information about each other too late?”

“It’s either too late or too early, like how you did when you hired me. But if it bothers you, then by all means ignore it.”

There’s no hint of real annoyance there when Jaehyun spots the lopsided smirk. “No, I want to ask about you too.”

“After you answer my question, then.”

“Fine.” Jaehyun puts the plate away. “I like doing taste tests. When I was still a student, it was the worst thing ever in practical exams because feedbacks terrified me. Good or bad criticisms, I couldn’t take them well. Then when I started my own business, I realized feedbacks are necessary because I ended up doing the same thing. Taste the food before casting my judgment. Can’t put a below average food in the menu. My cooks understand that.”

“They must be scared of you.”

 _And you’re not, that’s why I like you._ “That’s a frequent occurrence since I’m strict and not very friendly. Me being the only one to blame for the latter because social interactions are the bane of my existence. Does that sound dramatic?”

Taeyong snorts.

Jaehyun takes it as a cue to continue. “I like rabbits far better than dogs and cats or any other animal, but I love them all. More than half of my heart just goes to the hopping fluffballs.”

“Why don’t you adopt some bunnies then?” The thought of Jaehyun cuddling rabbits brings imaginary tears in Taeyong’s eyes. “The mansion will be more fun and less spooky. They’ll counter the weird ornaments on the wall.” He’s not even doing speaking yet and Jaehyun’s already laughing.

“I’ll adopt some when I know how to care for them on my own.” Jaehyun has no clue how the sound of his happiness affects Taeyong. “Animal lives are still precious, no matter their size. And I won’t be able to bear with the guilt should they get hurt in my care. What’s your favorite animal?”

“Goats?”

They both laugh at it. “Because I’ve been around goats and cows more than any other animals! Stop laughing at me, will you? You still have one more to answer.”

“What about supernatural…?” Jaehyun’s laughter has died down now as he thinks deeply. “I like centaurs, gods and goddesses, mythological creatures like fairies and sirens and the phoenix. The library has lots of books about them.”

Taeyong perks up. “Then I’ll make a trip there. I’m done with the easy books. Hey, surely you have dislikes about supernatural too, right? What do you–”

He is interrupted by a disdainful answer.

“Witches.”

Jaehyun’s gaze are on the garden beds so he misses the look of fleeting panic on Taeyong’s face. “Majority of them willfully sold their souls to demons in order to be granted more power to cause mayhem. All for selfish wishes. Do you like them?”

When their eyes meet, Taeyong has already composed himself.

“Witches?” Even just saying it makes Taeyong’s skin crawl. “I don’t like any supernatural being.” If he knew that the conversation would take this turn, he wouldn’t have asked.

Fortunately, Jaehyun doesn’t sense anything amiss. “To each of their own. Your turn, Taeyong. Tell me about yourself. Anything.”

It takes him a few seconds to register what Jaehyun said. “…There’s nothing really special about me.” Hands now planted on the ground as he leans back, Taeyong looks up the starry evening sky. “My only parent is gone; may he rest in peace. I grew up in the rural village and farming was all I knew. I already told you that my favorite food was what we ate everyday solely because it was the only thing available. But if I were privileged, I’d like to be a doctor for the poor, and adopt a few puppies.”

“Do you already have a new favorite food? Don’t think I didn’t notice that past tense.”

Taeyong pillows his head on an arm as he looks at Jaehyun with a small smile. “ _Galbitang._ ”

“Really? I’ll cook for you if you want to eat it again.”

“I’m the all-around helper, though.”

“Do you understand what _helper_ means? It’s someone who lends a hand to a person who’s already working on a task. In any case, I think I should be called a helper when I cook for you.”

“Going by that logic, does it mean you can’t call me a helper? Since you never cleaned the mansion.”

Jaehyun huffs in amusement. “Okay. My own words came back to bite me in the ass. Are you going to finish your share?”

“…Mm, I’d like to eat one more. Why?” Taeyong pushes the plate closer to his boss. “You can have it.”

“No, that’s yours. I want to play a game after dinner.”

Once again, Taeyong perks up in interest, his previous worries completely gone. “What game? I wanna play! Is it fun?”

Jaehyun’s visible eye glints.

…Poor Taeyong spoke too soon. There are times he shouldn’t trust Jaehyun and this is one of those times.

Right now, they sit in the dark living room merely illuminated by some candles. All of the lights on the first floor have been turned off because according to Jaehyun, it’s _better that way._ No, it’s not better that way. Taeyong is okay with ghosts occasionally making their presence known through creaking doors and swaying curtains but knowing they _are_ there, possible seeing them _and_ talking to them are something else entirely.

His weak protests ( _can’t we play another game? This is boring. It’s not even Halloween…)_ fall on deaf ears, though, as Jaehyun beckons him to put his fingers over the planchette.

“Are you sure this really works?” Terror cloaks Taeyong on the inside but to maintain a little bit of dignity, he works hard to appear nonchalant.

Jaehyun gives him a sideway glance and tells him to keep quiet as they need to put their mind at ease before starting. “Remember not to freak out no matter what happens because noises disturb them. Be sincere as much as possible because they sense it and if you’re not taking this seriously, they won’t talk to us. Okay?”

Okay, Taeyong won’t take this seriously. Easy-peasy! If the ghosts really wanna have a chit-chat, they can just talk to his crazy boss.

“Here I thought ghosts inhabit this mansion because it’s empty and quiet. Turns out you’re calling for them, you paranormal expert wannabe.”

“Who said I was a wannabe? Hush, will you? Take deep breaths to clear your head.”

Taeyong does it just to mollify the other. His mind is blank but his heart currently runs a marathon. Somehow, the air becomes even more chilly. A few more seconds of silence pass before Jaehyun’s voice resonates in the living room.

“Dear spirits, it’s been a while. I brought a friend with me and I promise he’s nice, so please don’t scare him.”

Taeyong doesn’t know what to be scared of. The ghosts or the fact that Jaehyun is on amicable terms with them. _Why did Jesus allow him to be attracted to a ghost whisperer?_ His brave front almost crumbles when Jaehyun nudges his side. “What?”

“Greet them. Play nice.”

 _Play nice?_ Taeyong would rather scream his head off. “Um, hello. Good evening. I’m Taeyong. Please take care of me.” A snort comes from his right. “What now?”

“You sound like you’re meeting them personally.”

Oh hell no. He doesn’t want to ever meet them personally. “Well, I’m new to this. Are you gonna ask them questions?”

“Yes. You should probably know that you can ask them anything, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be about them. You can ask for a clue about your future, what they think of you. Silly questions work too, I guess. I’ve tried it once.”

“What did you ask?”

“If the bunnies at the shelter like me.”

Taeyong smiles genuinely amidst the frightening activity. “You got a yes, didn’t you?”

“Of course. Shall we begin asking?” Jaehyun looks at the Ouija board and takes a deep breath. “Is anybody there? How many are you?”

Waiting for the planchette to move is so terrifying, that when it travels to the letter Y to spell out Y E S, he almost chokes out a sob.

A spirit graces them with its presence. Taeyong isn’t sure if he should be thankful but at least there’s only one he should look out for.

Jaehyun continues with his questions. “Just one, huh. The others are probably occupied. Anyway, since Taeyong is new to this, what do you think of him?”

“Are you asking them about my looks?”

“Shh, just wait for the answer.”

That, Taeyong does. The planchette moves and proceeds to spell out H O T.

Hot? Is it possible for ghosts to be attracted to living beings? Taeyong glances at Jaehyun, the light from the nearby candle sharpening his features. “Hot…?”

“They think you are sexy.” It’s so casual that Taeyong gets momentarily distracted. How he wishes it’s Jaehyun talking and not the nameless ghost.

Hold on a second. Taeyong wants to ask something. “Err, thank you for the compliment, ghost. I’m just curious about one thing, though. What’s your name? It’s a little unfair that only Jaehyun knows what it is.”

Jaehyun raises a brow. “What makes you think I know who they are?”

“Because you didn’t ask their name. Shouldn’t that be the first thing you ask from the spirits especially if there’s just one of them?” Taeyong licks his lips as his gaze falls back on the board. “Hello, may I have your name please?”

Don’t get him wrong. He’s still terrified but it feels like if he doesn’t interact with the ghost, it’s going to want to interact with him in more petrifying ways.

The planchette takes a moment before it spells out the name.

Taeyong blinks. “Jay? Is he American?”

“That’s another question, Taeyong. But let’s see if Jay answers…”

They both wait as the ghost takes their time formulating a response. In the end, they got a NO.

“But he’s got an English name, Jaehyun.”

“Maybe he stayed in a foreign country and had to have a name that is easier to pronounce. Like my parents are now staying in Connecticut and to make everyone’s lives easier, they use Ben and Sandra.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Did you stay in Connecticut too? What’s your English name?”

Jaehyun looks at the planchette with an unreadable expression. “This is not about me, Taeyong. Let’s get back to Jay, shall we?” He doesn’t wait for Taeyong to agree before he asks another question. “Sorry for being distracted, Jay. Are you busy? Can we ask more questions?”

_YES. 2._

Ha! Seems like Taeyong’s misery will end right away. Thank you for your understanding, dear spirit.

The pink tip of Jaehyun’s tongue pokes the corner of his mouth as he thinks of what to ask.

“Hey… Ask quickly…”

“I didn’t really prepare any questions, okay?” Jaehyun says before clearing is throat. “Jay, are you next to one of us?”

At first, Taeyong doesn’t get what Jay is trying to say but as soon as he realizes what it is, he trembles visibly. “ _TAEYONG_? What does that mean?”

“It means they’re next to you.”

Alright. Taeyong doesn’t think he’ll be able to sleep tonight.

“How close are you to Taeyong?”

_Z E R O._

This time, Taeyong allows himself to whimper. Dignity be damned. “Jaehyun, what’s that? What zero?” Utterly spooked, he watches as his boss’ eyes slowly ascend to meet his, face inscrutable.

“It means that there’s no distance between you and Jay right now.”

Eyes rounding in horror, Taeyong’s head snaps to his left as he tries to locate where the spirit is. “H-here? Jay is here?” He continues to search the darkness, not noticing the way Jaehyun scoots even closer to him, lips nearly pressed on the back of his neck.

_“Boo.”_

Jaehyun startles as his helper screams rapid-fire in a combination of shock and fear. “Wait, wait – Taeyong. Stop screaming!” He removes the other’s hands from covering his ears, cursing under his breath as Taeyong’s leg jerks and kicks one of the candlesticks. “It’s not true! There’s no ghost!”

…What?

Taeyong stops screaming but his eyes still frantically scan the dark living room. “No, Jay is still here. They’re next to me–”

“Yes, they’re next to you–”

Jaehyun winces when Taeyong’s shrilling voice reverberates against the walls of the mansion. He wouldn’t have gone overboard with the joke if he knew this was how Taeyong would react. Grand dick move, since he knew beforehand that the other was already scared – he just didn’t know Taeyong was _that_ scared. “No, please keep quiet. Hear me out. There’s no ghost. We’re not talking to any ghost because we didn’t do a proper ritual before the game.”

Still slightly trembling, Taeyong looks at his employer incredulously. “T-then the planchette–”

“I was moving it.”

“…We didn’t talk to any ghost?”

“No–”

“You really just wanted to scare me? You wanted to play because you wanted to scare me?”

A beat of silence, and then anger surges through Taeyong, his previous fear having vanished just like that. “Okay, please answer this question.” He withdraws his hands from Jaehyun’s hold. “If I had a heart attack, would you give me a decent funeral? Because that’s one of my many worries. I don’t have a family so no one’s going to bury me when I die. I don’t wish for my body to be discovered only when it’s already decomposing. But now that you’re here and you’re so rich, you can at least get me a nice casket.”

Fuck. Jaehyun fucked up big time, didn’t he?

Shaking his head in a mixture of anger and disappointment, Taeyong gets up and carries one of the candles to light his way to the switch. Jaehyun blinks a few times as the chandelier glares at him.

“Taeyong, I’m sorry…” Pervaded with unremitting guilt, Jaehyun follows the other man to the kitchen. He flinches as Taeyong slams the candlestick on the island and glares at him. “I don’t have any excuse. That was really shitty of me.”

 _Damn right you’re full of crap and despite apologizing for stepping your boundaries once, you didn’t learn,_ is what Taeyong wants to say but the fact that Jaehyun is still his boss, the only one that gave him a chance without even knowing who he is keeps Taeyong from saying things he might regret. Moreover, the man was unaware he could never deal with ghosts, and he also put up a front.

“Before we started, I knew that you were kind of scared but I ignored it for the sake of pulling a childish prank on you.”

Taeyong gets even more disappointed.

“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun contritely sifts his fingers through his hair, his other hand enclosing Taeyong’s wrist. “I won’t let you go to bed mad at me.”

“But you don’t have the right to dictate when I should forgive you.” Taeyong glances down at Jaehyun’s hand. He’s mad but his strong attraction towards the other reduces his anger to a simmering dismay, ready to forgive Jaehyun the second he asks for it. “Do you understand that?”

Undeterred, Jaehyun nods. “I’m really sorry, Taeyong. I promise, I won’t do it again.”

They stare at each other for a minute without anyone speaking a word, before Taeyong unclamps Jaehyun’s hand around his wrist to cross his arms. “Fine,”

“Thank you–”

“You’re Jay, aren’t you?”

Jaehyun gulps, and it’s enough for Taeyong to reel with _that_ good kind of nervousness. His heart runs full throttle once again. It’s honestly astonishing his emotions adapt to situations like quicksilver. One second, he’s mad at Jaehyun and the next he’s melting. “Sexy, huh. Jay thinks I’m sexy?” Nevertheless, it is masked with near apathy.

“…There’s nothing bad about being honest.”

“That, I agree with.” Huffing disbelievingly at the other’s outrageous ridiculousness, Taeyong picks up the candlestick and blows the fire out. Deliberately, he encroaches into Jaehyun’s personal sphere. “You know what I think is sexy?”

It takes a lot of willpower for Jaehyun not to pin Taeyong against the island. “What.”

“If you’re going to let me sleep in your room tonight because I’m not gonna risk it. I know this mansion is still haunted and even though we didn’t contact anyone, I want to be careful.” Taeyong pulls away with a smile as he pats his rigid boss’ shoulder. “Is that fine with you?”

One side of Jaehyun’s mouth twitches as he holds the staredown with Taeyong. “That’s okay. You’ve already slept there once.”

Did he get caught? Does Taeyong already know…?

That doesn’t seem to be the case because if he got exposed, Taeyong should be saying something about it, right? Maybe he should be glad Taeyong fails to catch on the near confession.

Jaehyun steps aside as the other man brushes past him to put the candlestick back in the cupboard and start washing the dishes they left in the sink. For a while he just stands there watching Taeyong, before releasing a heavy sigh as he goes back to the living room and returns the Ouija board back in its case.

He should really stop and think before dragging people in his bizarre interests. One wrong move and he might just lose the only person he’s ever been into.

It’s a month later since Taeyong worked for Jaehyun when the latter decides to bring him to the animal shelter. Concurrently, he has to drop by at one of the restaurant branches to do his weekly observations. So to kill two birds with one stone, they will be at the restaurant in the morning and spend the afternoon with the pets on that same day since Jaehyun doesn’t need to breathe down his staff’s neck for more than a few hours.

Sitting at the two-chair table nearest to the counter, Taeyong quietly watches. The restaurant isn’t bustling yet so at the moment there’s only one waitress taking orders from a few customers, while another busses a previously occupied table on his right. From his vantage point, he sees cooks move here and there through the vertical rectangle window on the door. For a second, he spots Jaehyun talk to one of them before he disappears just as quick. Taeyong kind of wants to see his boss in his full restaurateur element but he knows it’s a busy scene in there. Plus, he doesn’t think he’ll be allowed in the kitchen even if he’s friends with their – he and the restaurant staff – boss.

He’d seen Jaehyun man the counter earlier anyway to supervise the newly hired cashier, and Taeyong can say that a very serious Jeong Jaehyun wearing a gray apron over his white, stylishly wrinkled button down – sleeves rolled to the elbow – and skin-tight jeans is a sight to behold. Also, that expensive watch on his wrist and the slicked back hair with a few strands falling over his eyepatch adds up to the restaurateur’s enigmatic allure.

“Here’s your strawberry smoothie, sir.”

Taeyong blinks up at the smiley female server as she puts the drink before him. “Um, I didn’t order this…?” Aside from that fact that he doesn’t like strawberry very much, there also isn’t a smoothie on the menu. The restaurant is of traditional Korean cuisine and a smoothie is an incongruent beverage.

“Sir Jaehyun told us to make you a smoothie. It was honestly a bizarre request since one, we didn’t have frozen strawberries and strawberry jam and one of the staff had to rush to the supermarket on the opposite street to get them and two, this is the first time he brought a friend.” Her words spew out rapidly that Taeyong has a hard time understanding her. She traps the tray under her arm and grins, looking too happy to serve him. “Strawberry must be your favorite, no?”

It wasn’t, but it is definitely his favorite now. “Yes, thank you.” Taeyong only unwraps the metal straw when she leaves and quickly takes a sip of the cold drink. He takes back what he said about this flavor. Strawberry is the best and he will be eating all kinds of strawberry products from now on.

The smoothie is already halfway done and the gray apron is gone when Jaehyun joins him. “How was it?” Taeyong asks his boss, metal straw pinched between his thin lips. “I heard you’re experimenting with a recipe to add your own twist to it.”

“Were you eavesdropping?” A quizzical smile curls on Jaehyun’s lips as he checks the new emails from his secretary. They need to hold a meeting for the monthly sales report.

“It’s hard not to when you said it to one of your staff while you were at the counter which is only two feet away from me.” The straw slips out of Taeyong’s mouth. “Isn’t this table a little out of place?”

Jaehyun eyes the pink drink in the moist glass. “Because this is my table for when I have to check their attendance record. Do you like the smoothie?” His phone pings to notify an incoming email but he simply locks it before sliding it back in his pocket.

Taeyong smiles almost instantly, both hands wrapping around the glass. “I like it. I think they added something into it because I can taste something else.”

“May I have a sip?”

“No,” He pulls the drink closer possessively from his amused boss. “They made this for me and me alone.”

“They wouldn’t make that for you if I didn’t ask them.” Jaehyun reclines in his seat and tilts his head as his playful gaze bores into Taeyong’s. The stray strands of hair sway from the movement, pulling out an unnoticeable gasp from his helper. “Not going to let me have a taste?”

Taeyong ignores the burn on his cheeks as he rapidly finishes the smoothie. It makes a loud, sucking noise.

“…I take that as a no,” There’s a hint of mirth in Jaehyun’s tone. “Shall we go to the shelter now? I’m done here.”

The strawberry smoothie is so good that Taeyong can’t help but upend the glass to get that one last drop before following Jaehyun out of the restaurant. “Thank you for the smoothie,” he says as he sits shotgun in his boss’ car and buckles up. “I know how to search things on Google now. I can make a lot of smoothies for us.”

 _For us._ Jaehyun likes the sound of that. He fastens up and checks all sides before maneuvering out of the parking lot.

Is this heaven? To be surrounded by eager pups and kitties and bunnies? Taeyong must have passed already and he’s at the pet paradise for a stop-over. The animals are still in their cages since they arrived a little earlier than intended and he can only play with them once they’re let out for lunch time.

For the meantime, he helps the delivery man carry sacks of dog and cat food into the storage room of the office while Jaehyun and Taka (that friendly caretaker that bounced his way to Taeyong to enthusiastically introduce himself) clean around the area where the animals are.

Taeyong waits for Mrs. Han to finish signing the waybill before walking up to her. “Ma’am, do you need me to fill the food containers now?”

“If it’s okay with you, Taeyong. Your boss won’t get jealous that I’m taking up your time, will he?” The elderly woman jokingly slaps his back before pulling out the empty containers, and sits on the small plastic stool. She taps the other one for Taeyong to take. “I’m glad he finally brought you here! Ever since he mentioned that he’s got a helper, I kept asking him to visit the shelter with you but he said you wanted to focus on your work at the mansion first.”

“I wanted to take a break only when I’m sure there isn’t much left to do in the mansion.” Taeyong opens one of the sacks with a scissor and starts scooping dog food into the containers. “And I didn’t know if it’s okay to ask him so I just waited for Jaehyun to bring it up himself.” Some pellets fall out of the overflowing cup and Taeyong quickly gathers them to the side, glancing at Mrs. Han with a wince and sighs in relief when she waves at him dismissively. “Sorry about that, ma’am.”

Mrs. Han huffs as she continues scooping pellets into the transparent containers. “It’s okay, don’t sweat it. And how’s working at the mansion? I haven’t been there but I know it’s enormous.” Picking up the ends of their topic, she looks at Taeyong meaningfully. “Does Jaehyun help you out?”

“Sometimes. But he’s still my boss so as much as possible, if I can do it myself, I don’t let him help me out. Besides, he’s paying me competitively. And honestly,” He glances at the entrance of the office before whispering furtively to a quizzical Mrs. Han. “Jaehyun is such a lazy bum at home. I’m afraid he might fall ill if he so much as sweeps the floor.”

It’s meant to be a lighthearted joke and Mrs. Han’s laughter tells Taeyong they share the same sense of humor. “But I appreciate all his efforts, especially when he taught me how to use the appliances and understand cooking instructions. I didn’t even finish primary school, ma’am. Things were hard for me at first and he was so patient with teaching me the most basic stuff.” His heart swells with gratefulness and admiration as he continues praising Jaehyun. “There’s a big library in his house and he gave me free access to all the books there. Right now, I’m practicing by reading the children’s books.”

Mrs. Han softens up at what she hears. “We just met but I want to say I’m happy for the both of you. He mentioned to me that you were a farmer before. With a new job that pays well, you can finally do things you couldn’t do. Everyone deserves all the good things life has to offer.”

Taeyong agrees with her.

“And I’m happy because Jaehyun is stepping out of his comfort zone. Was he the one to ask to be friends with you?”

“Mm.”

“That’s great. Breaking out of his shell won’t be easy. What’s important is he’s taking baby steps to change that. No man is an island, Taeyong. He’ll be happier if he has friends that care about him.”

He definitely cares about his boss more than an employee should, and maybe more than what’s expected from a friend.

Their conversation gets interrupted by a loud Taka barging in, informing Mrs. Han that they let out the rabbits to play with them.

Taka crouches to Taeyong’s eye level and leans into the latter’s personal space. “Hey, do you wanna play with the bunnies? They’ll be happy to meet a new friend.” Mrs. Han jabs his side causing Taka to yelp. “Why!”

“Did you finally do what I told you to do?”

“Yeah yeah yeah, Jaehyun and I are already friends.”

“That easy?” Mrs. Han sounds genuinely surprised.

Taeyong’s gaze shifts between the elderly woman and the short caretaker. That’s good, right? Jaehyun is getting more friends. His boss can stop his occasional self-deprecation about being scary and unapproachable.

“He’s just shy but he said he’s been meaning to join me for lunch, too. Taeyong, you should eat with us later. Don’t eat with Mrs. Han, she’s just going to make you suffer with her drivels about this generation.”

Taka earns a slap on the back of his head that he ignores completely to drag Taeyong out of the office as Mrs. Han hauls empty threats of firing him.

“Are you gonna be okay?”

“What?” Taka lets go of Taeyong’s wrist and laughs boisterously as the question dawns on him. “Don’t take her seriously. She likes threatening me because of the shelter’s telephone bill. I ask her to deduct it from my salary yet she’s not doing it anyway.” He cups his mouth to whisper. “Mrs. Han really likes me. She’s a _tsundere_.”

“Telephone bill? _Tsundere_?” Taeyong rubs his temple.

“Dropped my phone in a cab and I’m still saving up to get a new one. For the meantime I use the telephone to talk to Toru.” Taeyong’s confusion prompts Taka to laugh at him again. “That’s someone who’s initially tough and cold but gentle later on.”

_Tough and cold at first and then gentle as time goes by? That is certainly not my boss._

When they finally arrive at the rabbits’ shelter, Taeyong is proven that there is indeed heaven on earth and it is the sight of Jaehyun sitting on his heels on the ground, surrounded by a multitude of fluffy bunnies in different sizes and fur colors. Majority of them are white, some black, and a few with mixed splotches.

Scrambling to get Jaehyun’s attention, the tiny creatures flock the man’s lap as they paw on his stomach and thighs, and one even chews on his shirt! A black rabbit falls out of Jaehyun’s lap and Taeyong hurries to pick it up, with Taka scooping the others in his arms.

“Hey…” Taeyong’s call falls on deaf ears as Jaehyun plops on his ass and balances a rabbit on each of his shoulders while another one commandeers the crown of his head, sniffing his mop of hair.

Taka entertains himself by organizing a rabbit race, lining them up three feet away from the golden prize: A thick slice of fresh carrot. “Give it up, he won’t hear you.” He tells Taeyong and wordlessly takes the black rabbit from the latter to let it join the racing contestants. “Jaehyun seems to be in a trance every time he plays with the rabbits and it’s mildly funny.”

“I think it’s endearing.” Taeyong continues to stare awestruck at Jaehyun. His boss practically glows with happiness as he boops noses with a white bunny. It doesn’t show much on Jaehyun’s expression, but his gaze is an open door baring his soul to everyone around him.

The caretaker deploys Taeyong to the other side of the rabbits before dragging a white fluff back to the imaginary starting line. “Do you know how to whistle?”

Taeyong’s eyes are glued at a happy Jaehyun fathering his baby bunnies.

 _Jesus Christ,_ the newcomer’s attraction is so obvious that it’s almost painful to see. Taka rolls his eyes before whistling, letting the rabbits hop their way to the carrot as he shifts next to Taeyong. He moves a hand up and down in front of Taeyong’s face, and realizes that none of what he does will take the other’s attention away from Jaehyun. Well, Taka can’t blame him. Moreover, it’s not like it’s one-sided.

Jaehyun couldn’t get his hands off his ‘helper’ when they arrived, his hand casually pressed on the small of Taeyong’s back as he showed the latter around the shelter.

“And Mrs. Han said I was disgusting when she saw me holding hands with my boyfriend,” Taka’s gaze shifts between the two oblivious men, sighing. “You good?”

“I want to kiss him.”

Taka’s eyes round in surprise at what came out of Taeyong’s mouth. “What? What did you say?”

Mesmerized, Taeyong picks up a rabbit and mindlessly caresses it. “I want to kiss him.”

Mirth bursts out of Taka as he dumps the little fluffs on Taeyong’s lap before scurrying back inside the office to bother Mrs. Han.

“What the hell is it, you–”

“I don’t need to set Jaehyun up with someone,” Taka sits on the tiny stool and picks up the spare cup, opening the sack of cat food to transfer them in a labeled container. “They’re both dumb but eh, they’ll figure it out themselves.”

Mrs. Han beams with delight.

Later that night, Taeyong’s feelings crash into him in full, ruthless force.

He’s taken advantage of the bath tub in one of the common bathrooms on the second floor. Enjoying the warmth, Taeyong inhales a lungful of air before submerging himself under the soapy water, eyes closed.

For a moment he ruminates about the unbelievable luck he found in the city. It’s a little sad remembering the state of his neighbors in the rural village but Taeyong sincerely prays for the betterment of their days, because a lot of them are good people that deserve nothing less. They should be rewarded for their hard work and receive as much as Taeyong is receiving.

Somehow his dreary thoughts halt and then his mind is suddenly full of Jaehyun – Jaehyun cooking for him, Jaehyun washing clothes with him, Jaehyun cleaning with him, Jaehyun in his apron, Jaehyun in his pajamas, Jaehyun, _Jaehyun, Jaehyun –_

Taeyong comes up for air, gasping loudly.

 _I want to kiss him,_ and as if he wasn’t contented saying it once, he repeated it without care. Heat blooms from his ears, spreads to his face and down to his neck, before diffusing all over his body. Most of it emanates from his chest courtesy of the rapid beating of his heart as it yearns for Jaehyun.

 _I like him,_ Taeyong thinks to himself as he rubs a hand down his face to wipe away the tiny bubbles. “I like him.” Saying it out loud only establishes how real it is, how much he likes his boss, prompting him to recall all the possible reasons that made him _fall._

Jaehyun’s kindness, his sincerity, his genuine care, his weird antics and charm, his love for animals, his effortless charisma, the dedication to his business and other interests–even though one of them spooks Taeyong. Individually they’re all simple details about one person but collectively, they make up the perfect man that Taeyong’s heart wants.

A groan escapes him as the weight of it drops on him like a ton of bricks.

He _likes_ Jaehyun, maybe even _lo–_

“Arghhhh,” Taeyong gets out of the tub and steps under the shower to rinse the suds off his body. He’ll just soak in the tub again next time, because if he stays here any longer, alone with his loud thoughts and feelings, he might just go crazy.

After drying himself, Taeyong looks into the cabinet and takes out a fresh robe. He can wear this once, right? Let him feel like he can afford it.

As he ties the knot to close the robe, Taeyong remembers that he hasn’t drained the water yet. He dips a hand to reach for the plug and tugs, and tugs again, but it doesn’t budge. It seems like the plug is stuck. “What to do,” Taeyong looks around for something he can use, but even the useless plunger doesn’t work.

He leaves the bathroom and scampers towards the grand staircase. “Jaehyun?” Taeyong calls a few more times before his employer comes out of his hiding from the living room, looking at him in curiosity. “Can you please help me unplug the tub? It’s stuck. The water is slippery so I keep losing my grip…”

Jaehyun climbs the stairs, scratching his neck. “Did you put something in the water?” With Taeyong tailing him, he makes way to one of the common bathrooms at the end of the hall.

“No, just the liquid soap…” Taeyong’s face heats up again as he stares at Jaehyun’s broad back. It’s so hard to pretend that nothing shifted inside him after the gravity of is feelings have finally settled. “I think it’s because I sat on it?”

Reaching for the plug underwater, Jaehyun feels around the steel cover before huffing out the corner of his mouth. “Did you check it before you filled the tub? I think this one’s rusty.” He tugs hard on the chain once, twice, grumbling under his breath as it refuses to unplug. “Just get a bucket and take out the water. You can pour it in the shower stall.”

“No, let me try it first.”

Taeyong gently pushes Jaehyun aside and tugs the chain with both hands, biceps rippling from how hard he’s trying to pull. He feels it budge a bit and Taeyong tugs again with renewed vigor, thinking he’d finally get it out when he steps over a puddle and slips, grabbing onto Jaehyun’s arm in panic and accidentally drags him down as he falls on the wet floor.

He fears hitting his head yet it never happened. Taeyong looks up at his boss, whose arm pillowed the back of his head from the impact, long legs caging his waist. One move and their hips will be touching.

“I’m sorry,” he says through parted lips, waiting for Jaehyun to say something (“ _It’s okay, be careful next time”_ ), do something (get up and forget his stupidity) – except that they’re only staring at each other, noticing how the time seems to stop. Taeyong gulps as he looks down and sees that the flap of his robe has fallen to the side to expose his thigh, before his gaze travels north to hopefully search the other’s for what’s going through his head–

He doesn’t know what to expect, but it’s certainly not for Jaehyun’s thoughts to expose themselves through a hard kiss. A gasp tears out of Taeyong, quickly swallowed by the eager man on top of him. He has never kissed anyone before so his lips move a little awkwardly as they try to catch up with Jaehyun’s. Taeyong makes up for his lack of experience by holding on to the other, arms wrapped tightly around Jaehyun as their bodies press together, the both of them feeling the wild drumming of their hearts.

None of them knows exactly how long they’ve been lying on the bathroom floor just making out, touching whatever they want to touch, until Taeyong’s lungs burn from depleting oxygen. “Wait,” he pants the second their mouths sever from a bruising lip-lock that keeps making his inside his churn. A breathy moan leaves Taeyong when Jaehyun’s kisses descend down the side of his neck. He grabs a handful of Jaehyun’s tousled hair. “Jaehyun, wait–”

Jaehyun finally snaps out of it, movements halting as he peers up at Taeyong with vaguely concealed panic and _want._ “Fuck – I’m sorry I thought –,” Jaehyun stutters as he scrambles to sit up not knowing where to put his hands. “Taeyong I’m sorry–”

“Shut up,” Taeyong says in annoyance as he braces himself up, slightly glaring at the other. “Why the hell are you saying sorry? Did you not mean this?”

His heart thumps wildly in his ears as Jaehyun stares right back at Taeyong. _Why doesn’t he look mad?_ “I don’t know– I don’t know if you want this, I shouldn’t have–”

Taeyong cuts him off. “You shouldn’t be apologizing. I don’t want your apologies. Did you mean the kiss or did you not?”

Jaehyun swallows the invisible lump in his throat. At last, Taeyong has him cornered with nowhere to run to. He can’t deny it anymore. “I meant it.” He palpitates even more. “I mean it.” By now, Jaehyun’s heart is ready to crawl out of its imprisonment. He likes Taeyong. He likes Taeyong so much and he’s so fucking nervous, so fucking scared that Taeyong might reject him because he’s weird, he’s into paranormal, he’s not–

“I like it,” Taeyong says when he sees the gears in Jaehyun’s head run backwards. Unwilling to back down from the electrifying eye contact, Taeyong leans in until there’s only a few inches between their faces. “I like the kiss. I’m happy you mean it.” Wetting his lips, he then whispers. “I like you.”

_Oh._

Jaehyun hears a lot of things at once – his own heartbeat, captivating harps played by the angels, and as haunting as it is, the slamming of a door down the hall. Could be his bedroom or Taeyong’s, but none of them give a damn.

He simply gets off of Taeyong and helps him up before pulling him in an embrace, burying his face in the crook of Taeyong’s neck. “I like you.” Those three words carve Taeyong’s skin, burrowing into his flesh to sift through his heart.

_You’re so pure, you appreciate even the smallest things in life, you make me happy like no one else can, you’re so gorgeous, so beautiful, so compelling–_

“Stop, you’re rambling now.” Taeyong pulls away to look at Jaehyun and the latter becomes so weak for those pretty eyes again. “I get it, you like me.”

His laughter does it for Jaehyun. The last straw that his heart awaits. Officially, he is held captive with no wish to protest, but eternally surrender.

Jaehyun rubs a hand down his face before chuckling, pulling Taeyong out of the bathroom. Clogged tub be damned. He follows until Taeyong stops in front of his own room, hands gripping his robe’s ribbon. “Why don’t you get dressed and sleep in my room?”

The suggestion makes Taeyong laugh. “Right away? Is this the part where we both agree we’re together?”

“There’s no reason for us not to be.”

“So I’ll sleep in your room tonight? Only for tonight?”

Jaehyun backs him up with one hand on the wall, the other holding his waist.

“Don’t test me, Taeyong. But I’d like it if you stay there for good.”

They just crossed the line that defines their professional relationship, right?

Taeyong is still laughing, albeit softly, as his forehead rests against Jaehyun’s shoulder. “Is this okay?” He asks, pertaining to the upgrade.

“I wouldn’t kiss you if this wasn’t okay.”

A new job and a better life were all Taeyong searched for in Daegu, didn’t expect any other than that. But the romance that found him is a pleasant surprise. He’d love to have it around for a very long time.

Pulling away from Jaehyun, he quickly gets dressed in the privacy of his room and comes out in no time carrying two pillows. “Because I like it when there’s something between my legs.”

That doesn’t sound wholesome. Jaehyun merely leads the way to the master’s bedroom in lieu of dropping a comment that might make Taeyong consider suffocating him with those pillows. It’s better to sleep with his boyfriend without simultaneously fearing for his life.

Waking up together well-rested, content in each other’s arms is just one part of their new routine. Performing house chores doesn’t feel as exhausting to Taeyong anymore because they do everything together when Jaehyun is free – from mopping the floor, cooking their meals and washing dishes after, to doing the laundry. Jaehyun must’ve enjoyed what they did before because even though the washing machines are free to use, they prefer handwashing their clothes.

Since Taeyong stopped being just a housekeeper, Jaehyun quits the laziness. He can’t bear the thought of letting Taeyong do the chores alone when he doesn’t have to be at work or at the shelter. His boyfriend still insists sometimes that he doesn’t need help, but Jaehyun only lets him talk before proceeding to fulfill his part of the tasks.

What professional setting they had is now verging domestic if it’s not already one. Doing house chores was tormenting and now, Jaehyun is actually having fun mowing the lawn or wiping down the windows.

The most prominent change in him is when the curtains in his room are now almost never close. Jaehyun wants the sunlight to flow inside and hit Taeyong in the morning because he looks so ethereal like that, so angelic with his hair splayed on the pillow, lips slightly parted, long lashes kissing the skin under his eyes. Jaehyun can’t resist the call of affection during these times, always stirring his lover awake with a soft kiss to Taeyong’s lips, or cheeks, or eyes. Can’t help but pour out his affection in all ways he can.

“Not to be a downer, but my curiosity is going to kill me if I don’t ask it now,” Taeyong leans over Jaehyun, an elbow supporting his weight on the mattress as his hand traces the edges of the black leather eyepatch. “I’ve never seen you without this.” Jaehyun’s jaw clenching doesn’t go unnoticed. “Don’t tell me if you don’t feel like it.”

“I got injured,” Jaehyun tells him the obvious anyway. “Blinded and useless, they removed it and shut the lids. It’s hideous,” he embraces Taeyong, fingers drumming rhythmically over the small of his back. “I’ll show you when I’m confident.”

Taeyong flashes a small smile and combs his boyfriend’s hair. “You don’t have to. I just wanted to know what happened. Thank you for telling me, though. Although this makes me think I should finally agree to showering with you.”

Jaehyun shakes his head, brows slightly creased. “This goes both ways, alright? Let’s not do something we’re not ready to do. Baring yourself to me is a new level of intimacy. We’re just starting, Taeyong. Let’s take our time together.”

“I’m not _that_ conservative, but thank you.”

“Shhh.” Taeyong’s mouth is shut by a gentle kiss. “Respect is not something you should thank me for. That’s called decency. And we’re not rushing, are we?” Deep laughter rumbles out of Jaehyun’s chest, resulting in Taeyong pressing closer to him. “Want to visit the shelter today?”

Discreetly announcing his budding love life to Mrs. Han is the first thing Jaehyun does at the shelter. The delighted elderly woman doesn’t even leave his side, giving him tips on how to maintain a relationship (she’s well-versed there considering her long-lasting marriage) yet somehow, Taka still finds out and refuses to shut up about it, suggesting the perfect places to go for a date.

Jaehyun receives an explanation when he spots Taeyong and the caretaker in the kitchen conversing in hushed whispers while cutting carrots for the rabbits’ lunch.

That’s one way to know they now have a common friend.

His parents–they gushed about Taeyong for the whole duration of the video call, Mrs. Han and Taka, are the only ones that deserve to know about the reason of Jaehyun’s sudden radiance. So when he begins feeling the constant glances sent his way by the restaurant staff and office employees, Jaehyun just lets them be. He doesn’t even need to hear what they’re gossiping during break to know that it’s about him and the way his attention is always on his phone recently more than the computer or printed reports.

Taeyong unintentionally confirms the news that the restaurateur is seeing someone when he surprises Jaehyun at work (he was taught how to book a cab for when he wants to go out and Jaehyun is not around) with his own packed lunch and Jaehyun all but flies out of the meeting room just to monopolize the man in his office.

That didn’t stop them from talking, though. The new topic of discussion in the office is Taeyong’s gorgeousness and the miracle of Jaehyun scoring a boyfriend – as though wouldn’t have expected him to.

Speaking of work. Jaehyun sits Taeyong down one night to tell him that he’s not going to pay him as a helper anymore. And before his boyfriend gets the wrong impression, Jaehyun explains it patiently.

“Taeyong, you’re not a housekeeper anymore. We’re dating. Paying you to do the chores doesn’t sit well with me. But I also understand that you wouldn’t want to stop working because that’s the reason you came here.”

Taeyong purses his lips. “Because I don’t want to impose. It also doesn’t sit well with me that I’ll be staying here without doing anything. I’m 25, Jaehyun. I want to have a job and not just be a couch potato taking advantage of you.”

Jaehyun quickly refutes that. Interlocking their fingers, he tugs Taeyong closer and ruffles the latter’s hair fondly. “But you know what? I can take advantage of myself. There’s an opening at one of the restaurants. We’re looking for a waiter. Will you be okay with that?”

A waiter? Taeyong carefully considers it. One perk of that is the ten times lighter workload compared to keeping the mansion clean and on top of that, it won’t be boring since he’ll have a lot of co-workers. Taeyong might even find friends in them.

“Technically, I will still be working for you, though.”

“But it’s different. You’re working at the restaurant. I don’t want you to work here. You live here as my boyfriend now.”

That’s a good point. Taeyong kisses the back of Jaehyun’s hand before doing the same to the latter’s cheek. “Thank you…”

“You’re welcome,” Jaehyun leans in acting like he’s going to kiss Taeyong on the lips, only to boop their noses. He deserves the pinch to his waist, truly. “That hurts!”

“Why do you like booping my nose? You do that to the rabbits. Do I look like a rabbit to you?”

Jaehyun looks at Taeyong mirthfully. “When you get excited while eating, you chew like a rabbit. Sometimes you scrunch your nose, munch with your front teeth, and stuff your cheeks full. I think that’s one of the many reasons why you stole my heart.” His gleeful expression slowly disappears as Taeyong smirks. “…Why?”

“Would you like to see me in a bunny attire?”

Taeyong jerks as his boyfriend falls off the sofa. Why the hell is Jaehyun imitating a tomato? He merely wants to suggest wearing a pajama with rabbit prints. He saw a couple set of it being sold online. They will look adorable together!

Sometimes, he doesn’t understand Jaehyun. Perhaps he shouldn’t, especially that the attire Jaehyun’s thinking of doesn’t even come close to what he has in mind.

He starts working at the restaurant right away. Jaehyun himself supervises Taeyong for the first three days before letting one of the senior staff guide the new waiter.

The reaction of the restaurant staff isn’t much different from those at the office. Jaehyun can’t get his hands off of Taeyong during those three days and the staff bear witness to all the unnecessary touch on the shoulder, arms, and back. They’re so obvious that it’s almost funny.

On his fourth day at work, Taeyong is currently bussing a table when Yuri, the waitress that served him his strawberry smoothie pokes his side.

“I knew it! With a face like yours, it’s impossible that you’re just a friend.” She makes herself useful by wiping the table with a ready rug, placing a spoon on the stack of bowls Taeyong is carrying. “Sir Jaehyun is actually sweet, huh?”

Taeyong bashfully chuckles, bringing the dirty dishes to the kitchen with her in tow. “That, and he’s not scary. People like to judge right away without trying to get to know someone. If you really want to be friends with him, simply talk to him.”

“Sir Jaehyun is strict, though.”

“He’s still your – I mean _our_ boss. He’s strict when he has to be.”

Yuri wipes the tray they used and puts it over the pile at the side. “That’s true. I think the rest of us here are just bitter because of that. He wants no mistake. Drop a spoon and his face is going to be even blanker than blank and it’s honestly very intimidating. I’m beginning to view him differently after what you said.” She smiles up at Taeyong. “But since you came, he’s been more approachable. I guess that’s thanks to you.”

To be the reason that Jaehyun is happier now immensely pleases Taeyong.

Come what may, he doesn’t ever want to be the reason of Jaehyun’s sadness, anger, distress, or horror. Things are perfect, as though nothing will ruin his and Jaehyun’s happiness. Taeyong thinks he has finally escaped _that_ reality, but he didn’t notice its shadows creeping up closer and closer until it’s already hovering over him. He thought it had died when he left the countryside, when it’s actually just waiting for the right time to catch him off-guard.

It’s 8 in the evening and he comes out of the bathroom after washing his face, ready to join Jaehyun for a movie when he sees his horror-stricken boyfriend in bed, white-knuckled as he clutches the remote in a vice-like grip.

“Hey,” Taeyong carefully sits next to him. “Are you alright?”

 _Is he alright?_ Jaehyun’s skin crawls. He gulps and continues watching the news on TV, of the mysterious deaths of children in a rural village in the Daegu countryside. “Witches…”

Taeyong stills. He looks at the TV and feels himself go rigid, blood cold with terror as the female reporter interviews the elderly woman that he remembers to be crying about witches being the murderer of the innocent children in their village. Both of them listen to her bold claims.

 _“I know it’s a witch! The children’s corpses are bloodless yet there’s no wound in their bodies! They look like their souls were sucked out of them! No doctors will be able to explain this. Go ahead! Call them! See if they can still rely on all those Scientific facts. Ha,”_ The woman snarls before her old eyes glare at the direction of the mountains cloaked by ominous darkness. _“None of our men have found the culprit but the corpses are always found near the streambank. Must be a resident of the forest. I don’t have much hope. Should they find the witch, they won’t live long enough to tell._ ”

Jaehyun’s hands tremble. A witch, and a demonic one at that is still existing to this day. Didn’t his father already kill the last one? They searched far and wide within the country after that and found no other strange phenomenon following the death of the last witch. They were so sure they succeeded in obliterating those monsters. Don’t tell them they missed one and retired for nothing?

How did this witch even survive? It hid for long enough for the hunters to put their guard down and now that nobody is suspecting a thing, it’s back to freely wreak havoc and manipulate nature without the prospect of being discovered.

If there’s really one more evil witch out there, it’s probably going to kill as much as it can because there’s no other demonic sorcerer that they have to consider to avoid grabbing attention. It’s going to think that it has full control and will have no regards for the number of deaths it will bring forth.

Jaehyun looks at the sword perched on the wall. He can’t afford to not look into it. Based on the news, several children already died and none can give factual reasoning to their demise.

He snaps out of it when Taeyong awkwardly chuckles. Only then does Jaehyun notice that the TV is already off. He was so deep into his dreadful thoughts that he didn’t notice Taeyong snatching the remote out of his hand.

“Are witches even real?” Taeyong can’t meet the other’s gaze. Hopefully, as perceptive Jaehyun is, he won’t be able to see through Taeyong.

His boyfriend pales, and Jaehyun can only attribute it to the news. Taeyong easily gets scared. Even if he thinks the witches’ existence is a farce, a little bit of fear is unavoidable. Jaehyun feels a little bad but if he wants to get to the bottom of this, he has to let Taeyong know. He has to let the other in on a secret that no one but his parents are aware of.

Jaehyun takes a deep breath and reaches for the sword, placing it on his lap as he sits back down. He doesn’t know how Taeyong is going to take this. Taeyong might think he’s in too deep with his obsession to supernatural and paranormal that he’s gone insane.

Momentarily, his spirits wane. What would Taeyong do once his secret is out? Certainly, no one wants to be with a complicated person.

Taeyong’s frantic gaze lands on the sharp blade casually lying across Jaehyun’s lap. “What’s that for?” He looks up at the other, heart stuck in his throat.

“Believe it or not, but witches do exist.” Jaehyun says straightforwardly. There’s no way to sugarcoat this. “I’ve seen a lot of them. Plenty evil witches messing with the flow of nature.” Taeyong hasn’t looked at him yet like he lost his marbles, but he’s scared. He’s obviously scared.

“…And you expect me to believe that, because?” He can’t put a name to the sick feeling in his gut, but Taeyong senses that nothing of this is a joke, that his boyfriend isn’t pulling a prank on him again.

And then his world crashes, drags him into an abyss of shock, disbelief and cruelty at the next words that leave Jaehyun’s mouth.

 _“I’m a witch hunter,”_ Jaehyun grits his teeth, hardened gaze boring into Taeyong’s soul. The sword grows heavier on his lap as though it _itches_ to slice through something solid. “ _I’ve killed a lot of them._ ”

Time stills for Taeyong. He hears nothing but deafening, static noise as they stare at each other. The nauseating dread in his gut dissipates to leave him hollow on the inside. Every emotion converges together before exploding into nothingness.

Jaehyun mistakes the other’s reaction – or lack thereof as a cue to continue. Glancing down the sword, he contemplates whether or not to inform his father. The man is ageing and the other hunters’ whereabouts are unknown. If they indeed missed an evil witch, Jaehyun shouldn’t stall. The sooner he finds it, the sooner its madness will be put to a halt.

“ _They_ aren’t brought into existence completely invincible.” Pure hatred spikes his calm tone. “They grow old like we do, but they can choose to live for as long as they want by stealing life forces from healthy people, usually children. But in order to have that ability, they have to make a pact with the devil. No matter how hard they try to concoct spells, if their own souls are still in their possession, they won’t be able to do it easily.” Jaehyun leaves the bed to grab the long, wooden case hidden in his closet. He lost the sword’s sheath long ago and this wooden case conceals the weapon when they travel. “They are killed if their flesh is set on fire, or they’re decapitated…”

Taeyong knows that much.

“But their hearts pierced with a sword pulverizes their very soul. I came from a family of witch hunters, Taeyong. But five years ago, we stopped searching for dark sorcerers because we thought we finally got rid of the last one.” Jaehyun carefully encloses the sword in its case and looks up at Taeyong whose blank eyes are cast to the other side. “Taeyong… Why did you leave the countryside?”

Silence stretches between them for several seconds before Taeyong faces him with a face so unreadable Jaehyun feels like he’s looking at a concrete wall instead of his lover. If he could only hear the alarming pump of blood within Taeyong. “I was scared. Children were dying, and because we couldn’t see the murderer, I feared for my life. I didn’t know that witches are real…” He lies so easily it hurts him, because despite the fact that the person he’s talking to hates _his_ kind, Taeyong sees not a hunter but the man he loves.

What a tragic and unfortunate timing for him to realize he doesn’t just _like_ Jaehyun.

Jaehyun sighs before resting his head on Taeyong’s shoulder, holding his boyfriend’s freezing. _Did the news scare Taeyong that much? Or was it his revelation?_ “Do you believe me?” He prepares to get called insane, but instead, another freezing hand cups his jaw to tilt his head so they’re looking at each other.

“Is there any reason for me not to? I admit that the events unfolding in that rural village are downright suspicious. The universe is massive, Jaehyun. Pretty sure there’s a lot of undiscovered creatures lurking in the shadows…or among us.”

Relief washes over the witch hunter. Nuzzling his face into Taeyong’s neck, Jaehyun coil an arm around him tightly. “My eye… A witch blinded it. My hatred for them, for those who hurt the innocent magnified tenfold after that.”

Guilt floods every fiber of Taeyong’s being even though he has never partaken in such diabolical practice. The fact alone that he’s somehow related to these monsters that hurt Jaehyun makes him want to set himself on fire.

“I’m going there. I’ll hunt _it_ down.” Jaehyun’s bristles with cold fury. He thought the problem was gone. He doesn’t want to part with Taeyong even just for a while but he has to find the culprit. He feels Taeyong stiffen against him, before the other man breaks free from the hug.

Taeyong’s previous poker face is now marred with worry. “Alone? Didn’t you say there are other hunters?”

“I don’t want to dawdle. Tomorrow, I’ll leave for the countryside. Please stay here while I–”

“No,” Taeyong is resolute as resolute can get. “I’ll go with you.” What if Jaehyun gets hurt? No one is there to protect him should things take a wrong turn. He doesn’t know the full potential of his abilities but considering that he discovered what he really is through the accidental healing of his father’s minor injury, he might be of help even just a little. Casting spells is not his forte for the sole reason his knowledge and expertise are tantamount to the size of an ant, but he’s a _witch,_ nevertheless. He’ll do whatever he can do.

Jaehyun is silenced with a finger even before he can protest.

“I know that village more than you. We might dive deep in the forest, and though I’ve never gone further myself, I can help spot poisonous snakes or wild animals camouflaging behind rocks and bushes.” Taeyong knows it’s convincing, seeing the telltale of acquiescence from Jaehyun. “Can’t let you get hurt before you can find _it,_ can I?”

“I’ll protect you.”

“I can protect myself.” Taeyong lets out a shaky breath before forcing a crooked smile. “Didn’t know I’m dating an ineffably amazing person. Would Taka believe me if I told him you’re cooler than his boyfriend?”

Jaehyun chuckles. “He’ll bite your head off. Keep it a secret for me, please?” As childish as it is, he raises his pinky and knows he’s with the right person when Taeyong instantly curls his own pinky finger around Jaehyun’s, even pressing their thumbs together.

They don’t know what’s about to welcome them when they get there, but one thing’s for sure – they’ll make it out alive.

The sun has already risen high when they arrive at the countryside the next day. Going by car only took them around two hours to get to the rural village close to the mountains. Because of the narrow road, Jaehyun parks the car next to the house of a kind old man who lets them occupy the space previously caging his goats ( _“I have sold them not long ago! Feel free to leave your vehicle there. Don’t you worry, no one is going to steal it.”_ ), so they won’t block the way when carts carrying sacks of produce have to pass through.

Jaehyun wastes no time in starting his mission. Carrying the wooden case, he asks the old man if he’d seen someone with a distinctive symbol etched on their skin. “I’m a photographer,” he lies, because they can’t know that he’s a witch hunter. If his identity creates a web being passed down from one to another and reaches the authorities, he’ll lose that one bit of normalcy in his life. “In the city, it’s slowly becoming a competitive business and I want to release a photobook soon. I would like to hire someone with a very unique _birthmark_ as a model.”

None of it makes sense, but he belatedly realizes he needed an excuse just like before. Back when they were active hunters, he was not the one responsible for getting information. It totally slipped out of his mind.

Taeyong who’s been zoning out since they left the mansion, looks at Jaehyun in confusion as they leave the old man with their first of many _Nos._ “A mark?”

They head to the next hut and Jaehyun looks at him as they wait for someone to open the door. “That’s how we spot _them._ They have an inborn tattoo on their skin.”

“…What do they look like?”

“There’s a lot of them.” They are interrupted when a woman holding her child opens the door. Yet again they get a _No._ Jaehyun then picks up where he left off as they walk away. “Various sinister eye symbols, pyramid, lightning, a lot of baleful circles, inverted cross, but the most common is the pentagram. But these are just the marks we usually found from the demonic witches. Father said that witches are born with gentler marks and they change into satanic symbols once they’ve sold their souls to the devil.”

As though triggered, the sigil behind Taeyong’s left thigh prickles. Younger him had wondered what it signifies. The meaning behind the four circles passing through each other like an indistinct diagram, with two lines that stem out from one of them to touch inside another and end just near a vertical line piercing the two biggest circles still remains unknown. He asked his father, but the deceased man was also none the wiser, his last words just being a confirmation of what his adopted son truly is.

People watch as they continue to go house to house. Taeyong catches their gaze, trying to see if they suspect him of anything since he left the village without a word right after another lifeless child was found. But their eyes hold no accusation in them. As a matter of fact, a few ask Taeyong how he’s been, and express their wish to come to the city as well.

“Taeyong?”

“Doyoung!” Taeyong’s eyes round in happiness as he rushes to his equally elated best friend, pulling him in a tight hug. “How are you? I found a job in the city! This is Jaehyun,” he points towards Jaehyun who greets Doyoung politely, and sports a bashful grin. “I’m with him…”

Doyoung looks between them in confusion for a moment before it dawns on him, playfully shoving Taeyong’s shoulder with a grin. “Really? When you said you’d be starting anew in the city, I wasn’t expecting you were also looking for love–”

He is cut off by an embarrassed Taeyong. “I wasn’t. It just happened. Anyway, how are the chickens? Are you doing just fine in the field?” He remembers that Doyoung is just like Jaehyun, having difficulties getting along with people for their introvert nature.

“I’m okay. When you left, I had to fend for myself. I can’t rely on you forever, can I? The chickens are fine. Would you like to see them?” Doyoung then gives his friend a once over, chuckling. “You really changed. Mr. Jaehyun, you must play a part in improving his sense of fashion.” The teasing jab makes Taeyong roll his eyes.

Jaehyun smiles a bit, shifting the wooden case to his right. “Maybe.”

“Um…” Taeyong excuses himself as he pulls Doyoung to the side, whispering surreptitiously. “Doyoung, did anything bad happen when I left? Did…did anyone else die?”

Doyoung skims his gaze left to right before shaking his head. “No, but everyone is more wary than ever. Hardly do children come out to play. It’s sad, really. But it’s better to be safe than wake up to another loss.” A despondent sigh leaves him as he tugs on the long sleeves of his tattered shirt. “Why are you back? As much as I’m happy to see you again, I just really want you to be out of harm’s way.”

Taeyong’s heart clenches. He pities his friend. If only he could ask Jaehyun to hire Doyoung as a housekeeper so that someone is still looking out for the mansion when they’re both at work, he would. But he doesn’t want to be shameless, and he doesn’t want to get ahead of Doyoung. “We’re looking for potential models for Jaehyun’s photography business. Do you want to tag along when we return to the city? Doyoung, I’ll help you look for a job.”

The timid man glances at the direction of his hut. “It’s hard for me to adapt in new environments. Settling down in this village took me a while. You saw me hide in my hut for a week before gathering the courage to ask if I could work in the field. I don’t want to be a burden.” Taking Taeyong’s hand, Doyoung sincerely stares into the other’s eyes, wishing that Taeyong isn’t looking at him with disappointment. “You can’t keep helping me, Taeyong. I’m saving up little by little. When I get brave enough to go to the city, I’ll head there myself and look for you. Where do you work?”

“At a restaurant. It’s called _Gaejeong._ ”

“Then I’ll look for you there.” Doyoung glances past Taeyong’s shoulder, causing the latter to follow his line of sight.

Taeyong wills himself not to freeze as he meets the stare of the elderly woman who pointed her fingers to a witch none of them has ever seen. Her unnerving gaze makes his skin crawl. She sizes him up for a minute before approaching.

“It’s been a while since I last saw you. Why did you suddenly disappear?”

“I applied for a job in the city.” The palpitation of his heart rings deafeningly. “I’m visiting Doyoung with my boss–”

The woman eyes Jaehyun awkwardly standing from the side. She squints at him and looks at Taeyong again. “You look healthy. It’s nice to know you are doing well. But you’re committing a mistake by coming back here. If you value your life, I suggest you hurry back to the city. You don’t belong here anymore.”

They watch her leave but not before casting Jaehyun another glance.

Doyoung sniffles. “I’m sure you’ve seen the news. To be honest, what she’s doing might cause more harm. I don’t want any more conspiracy theorists to flock here and disturb the village to film us. Before some journalists came here to interview her, there are already people coming from the city wanting to interrogate us. Rather than using the villagers for their own selfish wishes, wouldn’t it be better to offer some help since they are financially capable? Fix the sewage system, a cleaner water supply… But we can’t dictate their priorities.” He then tugs at Taeyong’s hand. “I’m holding you back. Please continue doing what you came here for. I’m on my way to visit the quack doctor. I think I have a migraine.”

“Are you sure you don’t need to see an actual doctor?”

“A quack doctor is the only doctor I can afford.” Doyoung encloses him in a longing embrace. “I’m happy, Taeyong. Really. Everynight I pray that you receive a lot of blessings.” He pulls away and looks Taeyong up and down again. “If you’re really concerned about me, please send me clothes as nice as yours.”

Taeyong laughs as they part. “Maybe you should consider wearing shirts with shorter sleeves so you do not complain of the heat!”

“I’m a conservative countryside native, a farmer!” Doyoung chuckles and nods at Jaehyun on the way, waving at them goodbye before continuing on his way to the quack doctor.

Jaehyun walks up to Taeyong to hold the latter’s hand. “I couldn’t hear what you two were talking about but I could see how much he means to you.”

“They need clean drinking water, Jaehyun.” This is the least Taeyong can do if he can’t force Doyoung to relocate to the city. “Is there anything we can do to help them?”

“After the hunt.”

Taeyong completely forgot about it. Dread twists his stomach in knots once again. Knowing that they can’t stall any longer than they already did, he follows Jaehyun to the next house, gripping his arm anxiously. Maybe if he digs his nails deeper, the pain would overcome his quickly growing fear. He’s not sure whether he wants to find the witch–if there really is one hiding in this village–or end up leaving with the sword free of blood.

Because no matter what happens, he will have to live in guilt while keeping a dark secret that once brought to light, might make Jaehyun wish they never met.

Two hours of asking everyone in the two neighboring villages, and yet no one has seen anyone with a visible eccentric birthmark on them. Some show theirs, but it only takes Jaehyun one look to know that not an ounce of fiber in their body is occult.

Jaehyun and Taeyong find themselves heading towards the streambank where all corpses were found. Fortunately, at this time of the day, none of the villagers are around to fetch water for bathing or washing clothes. This is probably why they’re badly asking for cleaner water, for they don’t wish to fetch from the stream anymore. Corpses soaked themselves in it. The water is contaminated with bacteria and sorrow. Even the mere thought of using the water in the stream for any kind of purpose is both repulsive and harrowing.

Thick clouds of gray begin to press close to each other in the sky to signify an incoming dash of rain. Their hair sway through the cold gust of wind that blows from the foot of the forest and onto the small village. It brings forth a sense of foreboding, to say the least.

“If all the bodies were disposed here, that could mean the children were killed in the same place. Within the village or in the forest. But since the huts are too close to each other and any verbal incantation might be easily heard, the latter is more plausible for the thick forest can help drown it.” Jaehyun’s reflection in the water distorts as a piece of garbage floats pass and hits a stone, causing a ripple. “The murderer is not afraid, Taeyong. I dare say it’s having fun seeing fear envelope people so it displays the bodies here instead of hiding them.”

How sickening. Taeyong checks behind them for a witness. “We should go before someone sees us and asks what we’re going to do. And it looks like it’s about to rain.” Right then he feels something wet hit the side of his face. “It will be hard to trek through the mud.”

Without further ado, the couple crosses the shallow streambank and enters the forest – where beguiling danger awaits them.

Rain begins to pour, soaking them from head to toe. Because the soil is quick to soften beneath them, the muddy ground makes it extra difficult for them to search.

“Easy,” Taeyong shoves the leaves of a tall plant on their way, pointing to the slippery rocks. “As much as we want to get this over and done with, the place is enormous and it will probably take us days to roam it even without rest.”

Twigs snap under their weights. The further they trek, the louder the noises get. Each sound is amplified and echoed as though luring them deeper into the forest. But that’s the plan anyway, so despite the eerie atmosphere the place emits, Jaehyun insists to keep walking.

So far, they haven’t seen anything suspicious. Apart from the sounds produced by the wind and the sway of trees, their target has yet to make an appearance.

Jaehyun pushes his damp fringe away from his eye. “Are you tired?” He peers at his boyfriend through the nonstop pelting of rain.

Taeyong might have willingly gone with him but Jaehyun can’t stop worrying. If shit hits the fan, he fears he might fail to prevent Taeyong from getting hurt. _Did I do the right thing by bringing him here?_ _Taeyong has no weapon with him. The only thing he can do if the witch spots us first is to run and save himself._ Between them, Jaehyun knows he’s the one more capable of fighting a supernatural being. Despite that Taeyong looks like he can throw a punch or two, their enemy uses black magic and the chances of his attempts to work is frankly zero to none. The man putting his life on the line right now is inexperienced.

Taeyong has just opened his mouth to tell his boyfriend to stop worrying ( _because I’m already doing a lot of it_ ) when Jaehyun screeches at a coiled snake hissing from behind a rock. This is probably not the time to laugh but the sight of Jaehyun clutching his chest as he scoots closer to Taeyong is so amusing.

“He can kill witches but he’s scared of little snakes, I suppose.”

“Shut up. You said you’d warn me of snakes, that’s why you insisted to tag along. Having fun at my expense won’t keep me from getting bitten.” Mortified, Jaehyun glares at the snickering man next to him. “A wild bear is going to attack you and when that happens, I will stand here and laugh. See if I ca–” Jaehyun’s bad luck is on a roll as he slips on a rock and stumbles to the ground, limbs splayed like a starfish washed ashore.

Taeyong’s laughter rings in the cold, wet forest.

Jaehyun scraped his knee on a splintered twig, and has to be supported as they head north of the forest. He didn’t sprain his ankle but it’s throbbing so he slightly limps at every step, leaning half of his weight to Taeyong.

At this point, they can no longer hear anything from the field. They’ve been walking for over an hour and the forest is an abyss. Even if they scream their lungs out until their throats are sore and voices are hoarse from the constant cry of help, no one will come to their rescue.

They literally only have each other to rely on.

Taeyong is so tempted to put Jaehyun down, only that the latter stubbornly refuses to take a rest. He wants to lessen the pain at least, maybe close the shallow wound on Jaehyun’s knee, though there’s no guarantee that he’ll be able to repeat what he’d done so many years ago. Would it work if he wishes hard enough to heal Jaehyun? He remembers wishing he could take away his father’s pain and that’s when it happened, that’s when he discovered what he is.

But he can already tell how Jaehyun’s going to take it if it actually works. He will either believe in miracle or curse Taeyong.

As though the gods can see through his worries, they are granted a little miracle in the form of a shack from a fair distance. Spirits uplifted, Taeyong aids Jaehyun all the way until they get inside the tiny, derelict shelter.

Jaehyun groans as soon as he sits down a dirty mat made of straws. He inspects the tiny dilapidated space before Taeyong joins him after closing the door. It’s cold and dim, and they have nothing to light to make fire. “Why is there a shack here?”

If nobody goes this deep in the mountain, there wouldn’t be a need to build this shelter. Although it looks like it’s been ages since somebody lived here.

Taeyong wonders the same thing but he throws out the possibility of the murderer being its residence. The shelter is probably just half of the common bathroom in the mansion so it doesn’t take long for him to scan it. Nothing of the items here appear to be a tool for witch craft. Rusty metal pan, a broken wooden spatula, and a rug that has seen better days are the only ones that lie around aside from the straw mat.

Besides, there’s still that small likelihood that the culprit is not even a witch. How an ordinary human could drain blood without slicing through the body, he would never know. He doesn’t have the mind of a killer.

Shiver surges through Taeyong’s body. The small, lone window on the wall doesn’t have a lid so they cannot close it to keep the wind from blowing in. “We used to chop some trees. The woods will be used in making fire or building huts, and some sell it to the next village. Although we usually just chop trees at the very foot of the mountain.”

“So, there’s a chance that someone went this deep to chop down a tree.” Jaehyun states in understanding before resting his head against the wall, eyes closed. Now that they’re on a break from searching, he feels how taxing it is to trek up the mountain while it’s raining. His leg muscles ache, coupled with the stinging wound on his knee and the dull throbbing of his ankle. “Let’s sit here for a while and wait ‘til it stops raining.”

The remnants of summer left in the spring will surely dry up the forest quickly once the gray clouds part for the sun again. For now, they can make use of the idle time to take a rest.

“What if the killer’s gone? Doyoung said that no more children are missing or dying since I left.”

“We can’t be too sure. If they’re sucking out these children’s soul to extend their life span, they must feel the need to lie low for a while too, no? I’m not very well-versed on the duration a single soul of the youth can give, but that could easily be one of the reasons.”

“I guess so. And the villagers were already planning to find the culprit before I went to the city. It won’t be surprising if they’re just hiding until the buzz dies down.”

Jaehyun reminds the other to stay attentive for anything suspicious outside, and detaches himself from the wall to start peeling his clothes off.

Taeyong mentally malfunctions. “What are you doing?” He asks as Jaehyun uncaringly kicks the trash away to lay his wet shirt on the floor before unzipping his pants.

“Relax,” Amusement drips from Jaehyun’s tone as he shimmies out of his pants and puts it next to his shirt, leaving his boxers on. “We’ll catch a cold if we don’t take them off.” He cocks his head towards Taeyong’s lower region, eyeing the other man’s jeans. “You should strip down to your boxers – only if you want. Body heat is good enough to keep us warm.”

What does he mean by that? Taeyong thinks as he takes off his shirt and lays it on the ground after clearing it. The situation sparks nervousness for two different reasons: It’s his first time to see Jaehyun partially naked, and his birthmark stings once again to remind him that the second Jaehyun sees it, it’s over.

Taeyong tugs the hem of his boxers down just to be sure. His obvious nervousness translates to Jaehyun differently.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” Jaehyun bites his lip. He doesn’t look at Taeyong thinking that his boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate it. “Don’t worry, I won’t look.” He’s about to widen their gap when he feels bare skin press against his side, and Jaehyun turns his head just as Taeyong rests his on his shoulder.

The small puddle of rain water before them ripples as the leaves of the tree shielding the shack sways with the wind.

Nestled closely in companionable silence, they listen to the soft pattering of rain on the roof of the shack. The silent moment stretches for several minutes with them contentedly basking in each other’s heat while Taeyong ruminates on the events since last night. Truth be told he didn’t get a wink of sleep even as Jaehyun held him close. Fortunately, his boyfriend decided not to be too perceptive. After all, what are the chances that Taeyong isn’t an ordinary man, right? Jaehyun trusts him so much that his sketchy response to the former’s revelation wasn’t micro-analyzed.

Jaehyun presses a kiss on the crown of Taeyong’s head before wrapping an arm around him to pull him closer. He then adjusts the wooden case to elevate his sore ankle. “I’m starting to regret taking you with me.”

Taeyong straightens to give him a questioning look.

“You should be spending your off-day however you want.”

“This is how I chose to spend my off-day. As you’ve said, I’m spending it however I want.” Taeyong smirks before looking at the rain puddle again. “Would you rather leave me alone without an assurance? Supposing you wouldn’t answer my texts or calls while you’re here, there’s no guarantee when you’re going to return. If you’re going to return. I didn’t think I’d come back to this place for this reason. I would never come back to this place for this reason. But it’s better to go through this together than let you deal with it alone.” Their eyes meet and Taeyong can’t deny the heat that rushes through him when his gaze falls down Jaehyun’s collarbones. “On another occasion – say, on the first week of meeting you, I wouldn’t even bat an eye. But I love you now, Jaehyun. Do you seriously think I wouldn’t get out of my comfort zone for you?”

Jaehyun stops hearing the next sentence following that confession. Eyes widening a fraction, he stares at Taeyong for a moment before giving in to the supersonic beating of his heart and its wish to answer to those three words.

This is so inconvenient – sitting on the cold ground of a shack in the middle of the forest and hunting down a killer – but he wants, no, _needs_ to kiss Taeyong. The other man can pull away anytime if it’s uncomfortable, but as long as Taeyong is kissing him back with equal fervor, Jaehyun won’t let him go.

He pulls Taeyong to sit on his lap without breaking the kiss. They’ve made out quite a lot of times and the fruit of their practices is bearing through the quick reaction of their bodies to the sensual lock of their lips, the touches that leave ashes on their wake, and the delicious friction of their crotches as Taeyong’s hips undulate.

Taeyong’s lips part with a gasp as Jaehyun’s nail scratches across a hard nipple. “Jaehyun…” He whispers, before the other moans consisting of his lover’s name are sucked off of his tongue. He has never _burned_ like this before. The things they did don’t compare to this although it just began. Jaehyun’s caresses used to stop on his waist, but now, they smoothly go south without care until rough palms are cupping his bare ass.

Kneading the supple flesh in his hands, Jaehyun’s mouth then maps the column of Taeyong’s throat. He bites down the other’s pulse point, pulling out another luscious moan before running the flat of his tongue from the junction of Taeyong’s neck and shoulder up his jaw, nibbling and sucking ‘til the tan skin reddens.

Taeyong’s moans hold a wide range. They go from soft to loud, from short-lived to drawn out, from a sigh to a whine, from contented to demanding. And Jaehyun likes every single one of them. They’re exquisite, enchanting, alluring. The kind of music that even Beethoven cannot make. The set of notes none of the musicians can ever replicate.

While Taeyong’s voice is a melody, his body is an instrument and Jaehyun is its pianist. His fingers press onto pleasure points that gets Taeyong reeling with want. Hard in his underwear, Jaehyun continues to assault the enticing skin before him with kisses that scald, licks that prick, sucks that paralyze, and grips that bruise.

Driven by mad desire for each other, they forget about the outside world. Taeyong throws what remains of his shyness out the tiny window as he discards his boxers, before doing the same to Jaehyun’s. His consciousness still keeps a tight grip on the fact that he can’t let the other man see his sigil, so he takes advantage of Jaehyun being unable to move quick because of his ankle as he gently nudges those muscled thighs apart to slot his head between them.

He’s completely inexperienced in the sex department. Having a blank history when it comes to dating, Taeyong relies on instincts and common knowledge. Isn’t it normal for lovers to go down on each other as a foreplay? Especially when said lover is Jeong Jaehyun – well-endowed and eager. Not saying that Taeyong isn’t, because he’s confident and actually proud of his size, but Jaehyun’s cock is so perfect. He didn’t know that there’d be a cock so pleasing to the eyes (and mouth) he’d pepper it enthusiastically with kisses and languid strokes.

Jaehyun hasn’t gotten over the initial shock of seeing Taeyong kneel in this confined space between his legs and his body is already suffering another when Taeyong spoils his length with addicting kisses and maddening pumps. “We’ve never practiced this…”

“Don’t have to practice to know what can make you feel good,” Taeyong’s eyes flicker upwards before thin lips enclose around Jaehyun’s swollen tip. Kittenish licks served by a slick tongue sends Jaehyun’s mind into haywire, body on pleasurable electric shock. “And it’s not like I’ve never masturbated. I’m just performing the things I imagined you doing to me.”

“Fuck,” Jaehyun quickly swipes his bangs away and cups Taeyong’s jaw, feeling the poke of his own dick on the pocket of Taeyong’s cheek as the latter begins to bob his head and take more of him. Right, of course. His boyfriend, his beautiful, intelligent boyfriend isn’t entirely clueless. Sex is a human nature. Whether or not one has a full-blown experience, the mind is powerful enough and the sky is the limit when it comes to imaginations.

Oddly, Jaehyun feels proud of Taeyong. He’s one to talk, though. Jaehyun, believe it or not, is a virgin. How would he even have the chance to bed someone given his socializing skills? His lack of sexual activity with someone never bothered him, and he’s glad that his first will be Taeyong, just like he’s sure his last will still be with the same person.

When he faintly registers that they are about to have sex in a literal shack, for heaven’s sake, Jaehyun breathily chuckles before it’s disrupted by a deep moan.

“I think – _hah_ – I think this is unsanitary…” It’s a struggle to speak straight while his boyfriend gives him head. Jaehyun’s stomach flexes as his toes curl in delight, resulting from the breath-taking view of Taeyong reaching between his own legs to grip himself. “Do you mind?”

The tip of Taeyong’s tongue dips on Jaehyun’s slit, and a smirk blooms on his face when the latter quivers. God, it’s satisfying to know he has this kind of effect on Jaehyun. His felatio is far from perfect but Jaehyun looks about ready to give everything up for him. And he will. They will. “If I say I don’t, would you let me ride you?”

Jaehyun curses under his breath. One hooded eye looks at a lust-filled pair. “We got no lube. I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“Then don’t. Improvise. You’re smart, Jaehyun.” Taeyong mercilessly grips the base of Jaehyun’s length at the same time it twitches, giving it one last kiss before he takes over the latter’s lap again. The sigil behind his left thigh itches, but Taeyong doesn’t get scared. He won’t let himself be scared at this moment.

It’s his turn to shiver with want as a slick finger probes his opening. Palms pressed on the wall, Taeyong captures Jaehyun’s mouth in a searing kiss as his back arches to welcome the slow push of the first finger. His inside is an uncharted territory that even he never dared to touch, and Jaehyun being the first one to do so makes his stomach churn with carnal hunger.

If desire was a liquid, it’ll be the blood that runs through his veins. Sucked in and pumped out by his heart to circulate his system. It never leaves. It’s always there. He will crave for Jaehyun endlessly.

One finger becomes two. Two becomes three, and Taeyong knows he’s loose enough to accommodate Jaehyun.

“Put it in,” he commands breathlessly, teeth nibbling on the beet red lobe of Jaehyun’s ear. “Jaehyun, _please –”_

Begging has never sounded _so inviting._ Grabbing Taeyong’s ass again, Jaehyun presses him down before sliding his shaft up and down the cleft of Taeyong’s bottom. He aims to prolong it, tension verging explosion, only to cave in to their need for relief as he points the tip to Taeyong’s puckered hole and pushes in.

Taeyong hisses, and silently urges Jaehyun with a bite on the shoulder. There is pain and it hurts, but not as much as he thought it’d be. It’s his first time, after all. He breathes through his nose and focuses on the kisses being planted on the side of his head, slowly forgetting the discomfort until his ass cheeks are touching Jaehyun’s lap at last.

He feels so fucking full. Taeyong experimentally rolls his hips and whimpers at the mix of pleasure and pain shooting his spine, with the former overpowering. Jaehyun holds him for a while, their heavy breaths a resounding duet in the dim shack.

Few minutes go by before Taeyong slowly lifts himself, eyes staring into Jaehyun’s, and slides back down. He does it repeatedly until he picks up a rhythm that has the both of them moaning and gasping for more, not too slow and not too fast, just enough to make them hold onto each other desperately.

Since he cannot meet Taeyong’s thrusts with more than just subtle rolls of his hips, Jaehyun wraps a hand around Taeyong’s cock and strokes it in sync with the latter’s stable bounce. Through that he’ll make it feel even better for the other, together with sucking the hardened nubs on Taeyong’s chest.

“Mm, yes,” Taeyong chants as he keeps up with his own pace. Everything feels so good and he doesn’t know which to put his focus on – the delicious slide of Jaehyun’s cock in him, the fervent touches on his own cock that brings him closer to the edge at every stroke, or the wonders of Jaehyun’s mouth on his chest.

Gripping his lover’s jaw, Taeyong tilts Jaehyun’s face to gently tug on the eyepatch’s strap. He asks permission through a half-lidded gaze, and proceeds to remove it when Jaehyun gives his waist a soft squeeze.

Like he was told, the empty socket is stitched close. Taeyong traces a finger over the scar resembling a lightning, before stuttering out words that effectively kill the sudden fear in Jaehyun’s chest. “It’s a part you. I like all of you. It’s not ugly. You’re beautiful.”

He loves him. He’s in love with him. Jaehyun is in love with him.

Emotions overflowing, Jaehyun leans up to lock their lips again. It’s a little messy, the dance of their tongues causing spit to drip down the corner of Jaehyun’s mouth. They go at it for a little longer, filling the tiny space with salacious noises – of wet kissing, of the filthy squelch each time Taeyong slams down, of their own wanton cries – until it is time to break free from the prison of their urges.

Taeyong is the first one to reach his climax, letting out the sexiest moan that pushes Jaehyun off the edge and spill into his boyfriend.

Together they ride out their highs with some slow grinding until they’re both milked to the last drop. Jaehyun glances down at the mess on his stomach and takes his boxers to wipe it away, cleanliness be damned. They’ve managed to fuck in this god forsaken shelter. Using his own boxers to wipe Taeyong’s cum won’t hurt.

“Do you want me to pull out now?”

“Not yet, please, not yet. I’m still literally buzzing,” Taeyong locks his legs around Jaehyun before nuzzling his neck, wanting to bask in the afterglow for a little while. Besides, he knows he’s going to miss the fullness once it’s gone so he wants to savor it too. Talk about greed.

“Okay. I’m just thinking you might be sore,” Jaehyun presses a finger on the stretched skin of Taeyong’s hole and huffs out a laughter through his nose when his boyfriend trembles and moans. “Now I’m sure you’re not sore.”

“Can you please keep quiet? What time is it?”

“I don’t know. Can’t move to get the phone in my pants. The sun is peeking out again, though.”

“Alright, don’t move. Let me sleep for a while.”

“With my flaccid cock inside you?”

Taeyong pinches the other’s nipple, earning himself a shriek. “Hold me, will you? What’s the use of these gorgeous biceps if you can’t trap me in a hug?”

If a simple hug is all Taeyong’s asking for, Jaehyun can give it to him, and more. Securely embracing his boyfriend, Jaehyun presses a kiss to a sleepy Taeyong’s temple and whispers, “I love you too.” He’s not sure if Taeyong heard it due to the lack of visible reaction. There’s so many chances waiting for him to say it again anyway and he will never get tired of it.

Call him dramatic, but if he’s asked to say his last words, it’ll be about how much this man means to him – Jaehyun might second guess many decisions but not this. Never this.

“Taeyong…”

He feels an incessant tapping on his arm.

“Taeyong, wake up. We should go back.”

“What–?” Stirred awake by the deep, gruff voice, Taeyong groggily sits up on Jaehyun’s lap before looking out the window and at the changing hue of the sky in preparation for the sunset. “I slept that long?” He asks through a yawn and stares blankly at Jaehyun. He hasn’t fully come to his senses yet. “I’m sorry.”

Jaehyun purses his lips, brushing the pads of his fingers over Taeyong’s hipbone. “Don’t be; I just woke up as well. We can’t stay here overnight without food. Should’ve considered that, shouldn’t we?” His soft chuckle complements the now silent whispers of the forest. “All we have is a single flashlight and a sword in this case that can’t feed us.” Speaking of that, Jaehyun moves his foot and deems it fine as the throbbing lessened a great degree, before kicking the case closer with his good foot. “In our defense, we didn’t consider _this_ beforehand. Let’s come back tomorrow and hope we catch whoever we need to catch by then.”

As he carefully gets off, Taeyong complains about the stickiness flowing out of him. He then uses his underwear to wipe as much as he can, ignoring Jaehyun’s smirk before helping the latter to get up and put his pants on.

“I can do it, Taeyong.”

“Don’t lean too much of your weight where it hurts. Let’s have that checked soon.” After zipping Jaehyun’s pants, Taeyong turns around to pick up his own clothes and begins to get dressed. His ass doesn’t hurt but there’s a present albeit dull discomfort whenever he moves. “There, let’s go–”

The blunt tip of the sword points right at his neck when he faces a horrified Jaehyun. “Jaehyun–”

“What does this mean.” Jaehyun’s gaze drops down to Taeyong’s clothed thigh, missing the second realization dawns on the other man. “What does that mark mean.” A beat of silence. “Answer me!”

Is this it? Is it really coming to an end so soon? Taeyong trembles before the threatening blade of the sword and gulps. “It’s not what you think–”

“BULLSHIT!” Jaehyun’s voice roars through the forest. “You’re a witch, aren’t you? You’re one of them.” The image of black circles on Taeyong’s skin flashes repeatedly in his head, seemingly getting brighter and brighter each time, almost like it wants to blind him. Pain is as clear as the day on Jaehyun’s face as he tightens his fingers around the handle of his weapon. “Tell me,” he says to the terrified man at the other end of the blade, “Are you a witch or not? Don’t lie to me, Taeyong.”

Saying his name doesn’t evoke happiness anymore. Jaehyun is shocked, hurt, angry. They all taste like rotten meat in his mouth.

He hopes that none of this is true. They just made love! He just told Taeyong he loved him. He wanted to tell Taeyong again. Yet as Taeyong deflates in surrender before him, Jaehyun’s crashes with the ruthless waves of the truth.

Taeyong contritely looks between his lover and the sword, deeply hurt that by the fact that he’s the reason why Jaehyun looks so lost and betrayed. “You weren’t supposed to find out this way.” Fear and panic roll off his voice. If he tries to shove the sword away, will Jaehyun point it back at him?

He’s met with a sarcastic huff and a shake of head.

“You weren’t planning to tell me. That’s what you’re supposed to say. Did you run away from this village because they’re finally caught on to your murders?” Asking such questions physically pains Jaehyun. “Were you going to wreak havoc in the city? And I’m your first victim? What were you even waiting for? You had a lot of time–”

Taeyong takes a step back before covering his ears to block Jaehyun’s accusatory tone. “Stop – I can’t – I don’t even practice witch craft!”

“Really? You said the killings stopped when you left the village. From the way I see it, isn’t that because you literally fled the moment people were already planning to hunt you down?” Jaehyun’s hand trembles even harder. He can only point the sword but he cannot find the guts to hurt Taeyong and he hates himself for being conflicted, because if he doesn’t render him unconscious at least, the tables might turn and he’ll be at the witch’s mercy. “Give it up, Taeyong. _How could you?_ No, stop giving me that look.” It feels like his heart is being torn piece by piece the more he thinks of how oblivious he was. The beautiful eyes he loved now pose a threat. “Stop it. It’s not going to work.”

Decapitating a cornered witch would’ve been a piece of cake if he didn’t love them. But he loved this one. He _loves_ this one.

Taeyong shuts his eyes tight and hits the wall as he takes another step back. “Put the sword down. You’re scaring me–”

_Stop it. Get away from me. Jaehyun, stop._

But Jaehyun, deafened by the cacophony of intense emotions, cannot hear the burgeoning cries in Taeyong’s mind, and the telltale spark of a spell. “Asking me to put it down, and then what? Cast black magic on me? Gouge my remaining eye? I’d like to see you try.”

“Please – I’m not gonna hurt you–”

Jaehyun’s jaw clenches as he stabilizes his hold on the sword, voice resolute. “No–”

But before he could finish what he’s about to say, a powerful, invisible force pounds him with an impact so strong it flings him out of the shack and slams him against the tree with a loud cry. His limp body drops to the muddy ground, sword next to him with his last memory before the world fades to black being a frightened Taeyong fleeing the scene and not once looking back.

Pain is the first thing Jaehyun registers when he gains consciousness. It cloaks his whole body and shoots up his arm. Without opening his eye, a hand presses on the pulsating area before withdrawing as though burned. His left shoulder is dislocated.

“Shh, just lie down. You’re hurt,” says an unfamiliar voice.

He then feels something damp softly dab down the side of his face. Jaehyun’s eye snaps open and looks at the torch perched on the window, then at his sword leaning against the wall, before darting over to the man sitting next to him. _What is he doing here?_ “You–”

Worry contorts Doyoung’s face. “Taeyong asked for my help but he didn’t tell me what I’d find when I came here. You were unconscious outside.” He briefly glances at the broken door. “What happened?”

The question triggers his last memories before fainting. Of seeing the mark on Taeyong’s skin, confronting him, and watching him run away. They flicker in his mind like neon signs. Jaehyun emits another groan as he attempts to move his injured shoulder. “He’s… He was the one who did this. Hurled me out of the shack and onto a trunk.” They exchange a look, one hardened and one confused. “Taeyong is a witch.”

Doyoung is stupefied, knuckles turning white as he tightly grips the damp cloth.

Jaehyun forces himself to sit up with gritted teeth. “You didn’t know that, did you? I bet no one did. I would never know if I didn’t see his sigil.” A quiet curse escapes him as his shoulder throbs more painfully than the rest of his body. “…Did he only call for you?”

Nodding once, Doyoung gulps. “If he was a witch, why did he keep you alive?”

_He truly cares for you –_

Jaehyun is quick to shut that traitorous thought. “How would I know…” He picks up the sword with a wince and notices Doyoung’s unreadable gaze pinned on it. “Isn’t it funny that a witch hunter fell for a witch? But I think it’s funnier that the witch hunter couldn’t hurt the witch even after finding out he was fooled all along.”

“…We need to do something about your shoulder,” Doyoung says after a moment. “Don’t worry, I know how to pop it back.” After making a simple sling from Jaehyun’s shirt, he orders Jaehyun to bite it before counting down to three, and proceeds to pull his arm forward and straight. Biting down the shirt helped muffle Jaehyun’s scream. “You have to see a doctor soon.” He says as he adjusts Jaehyun’s arm in the sling. “I’d like to send you to the healer in this village but you’d rather get checked by a real one, wouldn’t you?”

“I need to look for Taeyong–”

“It’s been hours. If you couldn’t catch him when he was with you, what makes you think it’d be easier now that he’s gone? Just focus on getting medical help.” Doyoung gets off the floor to take the torch and assist Jaehyun out of the shack.

They walk side by side in silence for several minutes that feel like eternity with the torch illuminating their way. Twigs snap beneath their soles. Just how fast do things change? He went into the forest with Taeyong this morning, and now he’s leaving it without him.

Doyoung breaks the silence with dripping disappointment. “I can’t wrap my head around it. The friend I trusted the most hid a dark secret from me. And to think that he was hellbent on convincing me to follow him to the city… What do you think he was planning to do?”

“It’s better not to dwell on it. Just be glad that he left the village.” Jaehyun briefly looks at Doyoung and then back ahead. “Nobody’s going to hurt the children anymore.” He continues walking albeit carefully, using the sword as a cane and bears the unremitting throb all over his body. “I apologize for the inconvenience, though. You didn’t have to come here. But I’m still thankful that you did. How long did it take you to find me?”

“Not long. I know a shortcut.”

“Hm… Do you chop trees for wood, too?”

Doyoung’s pace slows down. “No,” he says, grinning. “I come here with the children I kill.” Taking advantage of Jaehyun’s slow reflex affected by the injuries, he kicks the sword away before quickly invoking a spell to paralyze Jaehyun. Once the hunter’s down, he puts the torch up a tree branch before flipping Jaehyun on his back and crouches next to his immobile figure. “Surprise!”

Before Jaehyun can say anything, a silencing spell is casted on him that seals his mouth and muffles his screams. He looks up helplessly at the amused witch.

“I’m just as surprised, you know. I thought I was alone in this place. It must have hurt you when you found out he’s a witch.”

Jaehyun stares wide-eyed at Doyoung, his thoughts and emotions creating a tornado of fear, panic, and remorse. Taeyong is a witch – but he’s innocent. And he didn’t listen to him.

Doyoung props his arms on his knees and chuckles as Jaehyun continuously struggles against the spells. “Do you wish to see my sigil?” He rolls up his sleeve and there, tattooed centimeters past his left wrist is a crimson pentagram. “Actually, Taeyong didn’t ask for my help. He never returned to the village. I came here on my own because my intuition told me I had to keep an eye on the two of you. I sensed something very sketchy about you right away.” His sleeve covers the mark again. “To be fair, Taeyong is very kind. He would never hurt a fly.”

Guilt, and worry for Taeyong’s safety gradually overcome Jaehyun’s fear for himself. He stares up the vicious witch and his sinister grin.

Doyoung continues to speak as though he’s merely narrative an everyday story. “Would you like to know how I do it? There’s a bunch of technicalities, though. Chants and rituals. I do it in the shack.” Jaehyun’s naked torso calls his attention and without second thoughts, Doyoung slowly rakes a blunt nail down the skin to draw out blood. The feeling equates to being burned with a lit cigarette.

Inhaling the smell of Jaehyun’s agony, Doyoung smears the blood. “It’s infuriating how they won’t let their younglings out anymore. Their souls clamor within me, sir Jaehyun. Pounding their little hands begging to be released. But I’ve broken beads of sweat taking their lives. They have to keep me going for a long time. The thing is, I’m greedy. I want more. You’re healthy, aren’t you? I think you’re only in your late 20s. Would you fancy being the next victim?”

Panic-stricken, Jaehyun’s nostrils flare as he pants heavily. Even so as the witch brushes his fringe and leans in.

“Hush. I just want to take a good look at this. What a very nice scar. Did a witch with a thunder sigil blind you, sir?” As soon as he asks that, Doyoung’s amusement morphs into astonished recognition. Memories of men with swords hot on a witch’s trails in the suburbs scintillate before him. “You were one of the hunters that night! I saw it all! Did you think you’ve wiped out the dark sorcerers back then? I transferred from one place to another trying to hide from those bastards, fearing for my own life.” Anger boils inside him. “Four years lying low – you can’t fault me for killing again. Not consuming young souls for such a long time made me feel like I’m rotting alive.”

Hundreds of icicle prickle Jaehyun’s catatonic body. He’s freezing, with only the slight burning sensation from the shallow cut on his abdomen keeping him from going into shock.

The demonic witch hovers over Jaehyun, bracing his hands on each side of the hunter’s head and digs them into the soil as he stares down with a menacing glare. “I can’t let you go, now that you know what I am. Your life, in exchange for the years I wasted. Too bad, I was genuinely happy that Taeyong found himself a lover. I didn’t expect I’d end be killing you at the end of the day.” He leans in and whispers something that makes Jaehyun go rigid even more, if that was possible.

“ _Any last words?_ ”

Last words? Jaehyun is aware he’s about to reach his end, but his wish is not to miraculously survive.

_Taeyong, I don’t regret meeting you. I’m sorry. I hope you’ve already ran far, far away. And even though we’re not going to meet again, please keep me in your heart. Please don’t forget me. Please be sa–_

A sudden gasp ropes him out of a bleak daze. Jaehyun eyes the tip of the sword that is only a hair’s breadth away from his stomach, and the blood dripping from it. His gaze follows the blade passing through the middle of Doyoung’s chest and eventually stops at the man towering behind the witch holding the hunter’s sword.

Taeyong looks away from Jaehyun as he wrenches the sword out of Doyoung before kicking him down the muddy ground. His tone is laced with pure hatred as he parrots the other. “Any last words?”

Blood gushes out of Doyoung’s mouth while he peers up at Taeyong with a weak glare. “You’re one…gullible…thing.”

More viscous red drips down his chin before his twitching comes to a halt, and his impassioned eyes turn empty.

Taeyong quickly returns to Jaehyun’s side, frantically appraising the damage. “What did he do–” He then presses their foreheads together and cups Jaehyun’s cheeks, eyes shut tight to let the power of his mind break the spell casted by Doyoung.

The night sky is riddled with tremulous stars. It reminds him of that evening where they spent dinner at the garden. Jaehyun gazes at them when Taeyong pulls back, and his lips part to emit a loud gasp just as a lone tear rolls down the side of his face. Soon enough, warmth floods inside him to get rid of the invisible knives of ice.

He’s about to grab Taeyong when the fire from the torch suddenly spreads and quickly swallows the tree, before Doyoung’s previously unmoving body sits up to look at them with a smile so sinister to accompany the low hum of an incantation.

_Spill the flames far and wide and leave no soil untouched. Burn them all. Let the souls gather for me to consu–_

No. They can’t let it happen. They can’t let him finish the chant.

Jaehyun shoves Taeyong aside and picks up his sword. The last thing he sees in Doyoung’s eyes is his own reflection, before the blade slices through his neck and beheads him.

The fire stops spreading as Doyoung’s head falls off his body.

Taeyong then drags the corpse, as well as the head and throws them into the blazing fire before pulling Jaehyun away from it. Loud, hissing sound spews out of the burning ground followed by a floating white dust that evaporate into the sky like fireflies.

_The children’s souls, and all the innocent lives that were unfairly taken._

It’s purely sickening how easily evil hid in plain sight, camouflaging among them as an innocent. Taeyong can’t stomach the fact that he had been friends with a murderer, and that no matter which angle he looks at it, they’re somehow related to each other.

They watch the diabolic witch’s corpse get roasted into unrecognizable black. In no time, the smell of smoldering human flesh diffuses into the forest.

Jaehyun turns around as Taeyong begins to walk away. “Taeyong, wait–”

Taeyong snatches his arm out of the hunter’s grasp and looks at him, eyes brimming with a myriad of emotions. This may not be the right time, but he will not have another chance if he doesn’t explain things now. “I was adopted, Jaehyun. I never lived with my kind, never learned witch craft, never knew how some of us die. The father I knew never told me how I came into his life. Maybe I was abandoned, or given away, I don’t know. I have no clue if my biological parents are still alive and whether they’re like, or like Doyoung. When my father got injured, that’s how I discovered I was different. I healed him once. Would’ve been twice if the heavens didn’t interfere and took him away from me for good. After that I swore not to do it again because I was scared, because I thought all witches were evil–but I am no evil. I don’t know what my sigil means but I never sold my soul to the devil.”

Well, what can Jaehyun do? Nothing. He’s got it all wrong and he can’t turn back the time anymore. Wish he didn’t let the anger talk, wish he didn’t let the trauma cloud his judgment, wish he didn’t point the sword.

What’s already done cannot be rewound or patched with a band-aid.

Taeyong is among the rare, untainted witches that possibly also belongs to the most powerful clan given his ability to conjure magic without coming up with a spell.

And the hunter almost coated his sword with the wrong blood.

Jaehyun wraps his arms around Taeyong and buries his face in the crook of his neck. It vaguely dawns on him that his shoulder and the rest of his body ache no longer. “I’m sorry,” _It’s not enough._ “God, I’m so sorry–”

“It’s not your fault.” The witch’s chest weighs a ton of affliction. His arms hang idle on his sides, itching to return the hug but the second he does, he won’t be let go. He needs to let go for a while. “Let’s switch place and I would’ve been lost as well. I just hoped you stopped for a second to listen.” Then he pries out of Jaehyun’s hug and wishes he was blind so he wouldn’t see the pain and confusion twisting the other man’s features. “I’m sorry I ran away. Fear clouded me…”

“But you came back!” Why is Jaehyun the one trying to quell the other’s stubborn conscience? “It’s okay, please forget it–” Taeyong avoids his touch again. “Taeyong…? What are you doing?”

Taeyong cannot stand it anymore so he looks away, hands curling into tight fists. “Didn’t you see what I could do even without casting a spell? I’m not scared of supernatural or paranormal anymore, Jaehyun. I’m no longer scared of witches. I’m scared of me. I want to –,” he pauses to take a deep breath, “You should go back without me.”

Time stills for Jaehyun. “You’re…leaving?”

“…I really need some time for myself, away from you. And you away from me. I don’t think things will instantly go back to normal. It’s only for a while, Jaehyun – and if you still want me, please accept me again.”

“And when will you come back?”

Taeyong tames the nearby blaze with a long and hard stare in lieu of answering, and grabs the lit torch from the tree. His touch cools the scalding wood for Jaehyun. “Use it to light your way. Go and get yourself checked; you still have to, just to be sure.”

Their gazes lock for a moment before Taeyong exhales shakily, and turns on his heel. He doesn’t know where to go but he has all the time in the world to figure that out.

“Before you leave…” Jaehyun grips his phone tight. “You… you really love me, don’t you? I just... I want to hear it again.”

“I love you, Jaehyun, and that’s what makes this difficult. Because I’m going away but I’m leaving my heart with you.”

If only he knew how to cure the wound in their hearts, Taeyong would cast all the healing spells just to rid him and Jaehyun of it.

Jaehyun knows that no matter how hard he begs Taeyong to stay, the other man is resolute with his decision. He can’t undo their fallout but he can wait. He will wait for Taeyong to come back even if it takes them years to reunite.

Sword in one hand and phone in the other, Jaehyun turns around to trace the path they took earlier, feeling the familiar heat of somebody’s gaze on the back of his head.

No one close to him, not even his parents, have any idea of what happened to the two of them.

Jaehyun killed another witch, hopefully the very last and came back with all limbs intact so there’s nothing to worry about. There’s no use informing them that he did it with the help of another witch because they will only ask for more details, and keeping quiet is another way of giving Taeyong the peace he needs.

He had gone to the hospital alone for a check up and came out without a serious diagnosis beyond bruises. Being the boss of his own business, he easily avoids going to work and Mrs. Han is one call away for him to tell he wouldn’t be visiting for a while.

_“Why? Are you okay?”_

_“I don’t feel well,” he says without emphasis. What he truly feels is already encapsulated there._

_“Is that so… Then let Taeyong take care of you. The animals will miss you, Jaehyun. Especially the bunnies! They fell in love with Taeyong, too. Get well soon so you can both visit the shelter again. Taka told me he’s planning to invite you for a double date.”_

_“Ah, he’s gone back to the rural village to see his friends. So, I might visit the shelter alone next time.”_

Mrs. Han is like his second mother, so lying to her makes Jaehyun feel even worse.

But he can’t think of anything else to do to nurse his bleeding heart than hole himself up in the mansion that has regressed to its dreary state since Taeyong’s departure two weeks ago.

Not only does he need to lie about his own misery, but of Taeyong’s disappearance as well. Without a choice he orders the office to terminate the waiter and look for a new one. Filing an indefinite leave for him won’t work since there’s no guarantee that Taeyong will be back in a month.

Jaehyun parks the car in the garage and closes the gates. He came back from doing some grocery. For the past three weeks, he has been calling for delivery because he has no energy to get off his bed. With him pasting himself under the sheets 24/7, some of his stock have expired or gotten spoiled. Dust begins to layer every part of the mansion again, and his room reverts to its former darkness with all curtains closed.

“Excuse me,”

The restaurateur looks up at his neighbor. He knows her. She lives two mansions down and can never be seen without jewelries adorning her ears, neck, and hands. Probably in her 50s, and frequently takes a walk with another woman her age. “Yes?”

She looks around with a raised brow, twisting the handle of her umbrella. “Where’s the young man that works here? I haven’t seen him in weeks.” Her tone is meaningful and likely accusatory. “The grasses are growing again, shouldn’t he cut them?”

 _Just say you think he’s dead, and go._ “He’s not my housekeeper, madam. That young man you’re talking about is my boyfriend.” Jaehyun ignores her shock. “And his whereabouts are none of your business.”

The woman scoffs. “I knew it. You did something to him, didn’t you?”

Jaehyun combs a hand through his hair, unintentionally exposing the scar across his right eye. “Nothing you can prove.” He turns to get inside the mansion as she does her usual dramatics.

He spends his dinner at the garden. Speaking of it, it’s the only chore Jaehyun doesn’t skip. He regularly waters the garden beds and added another batch of fertilizer. Can’t afford to let Taeyong’s effort go to waste.

An article said talking to the plants helps them stay healthy. If Jaehyun’s not in bed, he’s at the garden chatting up the flowers and other plants, as well as those decorating his lawn. He does this every night, with the twinkling stars as his only witnesses. Jaehyun wishes that Taeyong’s there as well. The plants will surely appreciate a better conversationalist.

Another week passes, and Jaehyun cannot push aside a month-worth of work anymore so he returns to the office.

Without the eyepatch.

He shouldn’t care about what other people say. The only thing that matters to him is what Taeyong thinks of it, and since Taeyong said he likes all of Jaehyun, why would he be ashamed of a part of him that is loved by the only man he cares for?

As a reputable professional, he keeps his personal problems out of the office. Not even once did they see him out of it. Jaehyun is as productive and engaging as ever, but his strictness has obviously lessened.

A month becomes two, then three, and when the fourth one is over, Jaehyun decides to visit the shelter again. This time, with a plan to adopt as many bunnies as possible.

Mrs. Han knows that Taeyong is not around yet so he gives Jaehyun a strict reminder on how to care for his pets. Jaehyun promises to leave them enough food and water when he’s at work so they won’t starve. To let them freely roam the mansion every now and then because they’ve had enough being caged in the shelter. To bathe them regularly, play games, give them the love they deserve.

Later on, he realizes that adopting these rabbits is kind of therapeutic. They remind him of Taeyong, so they lessen the longing. Oftentimes he lets them sleep in his bed (with a divider so he won’t crush them poor fluffballs) and it’s always a joy waking up in the morning with the tiny animals hopping on his chest or booping his face.

Hopefully, their second favorite person comes back soon so the half of them can nuzzle Taeyong’s face instead because 7 bunnies on top of him at the same time is actually a little heavy.

Halfway to the sixth month, Jaehyun wakes up for the first time feeling ten times better. It weirds him out for a moment, before it _freaks_ him out the second he realizes the bunnies are not in the room. Jaehyun scrambles to get out of bed, notices that his door is ajar and almost trips on his way out, searching every room for the little pets.

Where did his bunnies go? What if they got hurt? Did somebody break in and stole them? He’s not even a heavy sleeper! How come he didn’t hear any–

Jaehyun stops on his tracks as he enters the garden. All of his bunnies are there…

…including the man that resembles them when he’s excitedly nibbling on food.

“Don’t eat the plants. I doubt they’re a part of your diet.” Taeyong looks up at him with a hint of a smile as he caresses the fluffballs. “Your dad is a restaurateur, so listen to him.”

“Taeyong…?” _Is this real? He’s not dreaming, is he?_ Jaehyun pinches his cheek and yelps. “How did you get in?” Really? That’s the first thing he’ll say after almost six months of being apart? In Jaehyun’s defense, the gates are hard to climb, not to mention the walls –

Taeyong lets the rabbits hop around before getting up, brushing off his hands together. “You can install every kind of security system in the world and I can still walk in without a hitch. You were sleeping so soundly; I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”

Oh, right. Jaehyun totally forgot that his boyfriend is a witch. His heart beats thunderously, pumping happiness to every part of him. He’s completely aware that it’s the serotonin speaking, thank you very much, but with every beat of his heart while staring at Taeyong in the flesh and not just imagining him, comes the strong urge to jump around in glee.

The wait is over. Taeyong is back, and Jaehyun is having a hard time containing his feelings.

“If you’re wondering what I did, I reflected on myself, and the both of us. The effect of our identities to this relationship. Also, I tried to create a spell that will abolish my special abilities.” Taeyong wets his lips. “As you can see, it was futile. The only thing I did was torture myself for a day and then I realized, _this is useless, I can’t get rid of who I am._ If I take away my very core, there will be nothing left of me, and I might not be able to return to you. Besides, I’m not sinister. You hate evil, and I’m not one of them. But I really needed some time away for myself to fully embrace it. And I can use my abilities to help, right?”

Precisely. Jaehyun would never make Taeyong change himself – he’s kind, he has a heart of gold. Jaehyun is glad that Taeyong’s aware that he didn’t need to fix himself. Because there’s nothing wrong with him.

A wide, genuine smile brightens Taeyong’s face. “And it took me a while to be with you again because the village needed another healer.”

Jaehyun blinks. “They _know…_?”

Taeyong snorts. “Of course, not. I disguised as a quack doctor. Not exactly my dream profession, but at least, there’s a ‘doctor’ there. And I’m not doing much anyway. Just ridding them of muscle aches and fever, and other typical sickness. They pay me in kind,” he gestures to the plain white shirt and loose pants. “There’s one thing I haven’t done for them yet, though.”

“What is it?”

“Give them a clean drinking water. I don’t know exactly how to produce that, it’s not in my powers, I guess, but you promised me we’d help them.” The witch shrugs before stepping into Jaehyun’s personal space, their hot breaths mingling. “Can we help them?”

Jaehyun sighs shakily, hands gripping Taeyong’s waist. God, it feels so good to hold him again. “Sure. I’ll talk to someone who can build a water refilling system there.” His gaze then drops to the other man’s lips. “I’m sorry for–”

A finger shuts him up.

“Shhh, it’s done. I’m back, and not for apologies. But I feel bad for leaving you alone. Shall I make it up to you?”

“…How?”

Taeyong feels a playful tug on the hem of his pantleg and chuckles, before pressing a kiss to Jaehyun’s lips. “Let me father your bunny babies, and clean the mansion with you again. I just left for a while and you’re back to being lazy.”

“I was sad, don’t scold me.” Jaehyun says in between an abundance of pecks on his boyfriend’s mouth. “Won’t make you say sorry for being away for almost six months, but I have a request.” He gets a quizzical look. “I’ll save it for later.”

For the past six months, he was worried that it would be difficult to pick up on the ends of their relationship, but Jaehyun is so, so glad that’s not the case. With Taeyong, things are simple and easy. That little break had to take place, and he’s certain that whatever they had before that nightmare will only be strengthen more than ever.

Thinking about it now, perhaps Taeyong is not the only warlock between them. Jaehyun must possess some supernatural ability too when he fell for the other.

His heart is the sorcerer, and his love is the magic that ties him to the person he least expected. Bound by a spell that was never casted, he was meant to meet Taeyong and fall in love with him.

A witch and a witch hunter? The compatibility is splendid, isn’t it?

* * *

Taeyong stands in front of the full-length mirror, cheeks aflame as he eyes the outfit Jaehyun made him wear. At the very least, the color of the bunny ears and tail compliment his skin tone.

Who would’ve thought that his boyfriend is very kinky?

“What are you doing?” He eyes the other man through the mirror, snorting. “You requested this, so stop bleeding. I should be the one stuffing my nose with tissue, you perverted bastard.”

“I can’t!” Jaehyun twists the tissue in his nose and sneezes after unintentionally tickling himself, quickly picking up the piece he sneezed out. “It’s your fault. You’re so sexy–” A hand gently pushes him down the bed as Taeyong climbs his lap and settles there.

“You keep saying that, but you’re not doing anything about it.” Taeyong’s wickedly teasing smile brings forth a familiar heat in Jaehyun’s belly. “And since you’re so damn lazy…”

The wet flat of Taeyong’s tongue slicks up his index and middle fingers – The sight of him doing that while in a sultry outfit is so hypnotizing that Jaehyun notices a tad too late how his wrists are already pressed together within the clutch of an invisible cuff, paralyzed just above his head. 

_Jesus._

Dating a witch has so many perks, indeed. Jaehyun can’t wait to see more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave kudos and comments xoxo


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